Veterans to bolster men's tennis squad

Coming off a season in which it earned a 15th place national ranking, the men's tennis team is ready for the 2003 spring season. This time around, the squad is led by coach Jim Watson, assistant coach Doug Eng, and senior co-captains David Ruttenberg and Danny Lang.

Ruttenberg is slated to play the number one spot for the Jumbos while last year's NESCAC rookie of the year, sophomore Rifat Perahya, will play number two. Last year, the duo of Ruttenberg and Perahya took home the New England Doubles Championship, finished fourth at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Small College Championships in Texas, and teamed up for the NCAA doubles tournament.

Ruttenberg also represented Tufts in the NCAA singles tournament. He finished last season with a record of 13-3 and has a career record of 36-13. The captain is very confident for his singles competition this season.

"My goal is to win nationals. Unless I do that I won't be satisfied," Ruttenberg said.

Perahya went 11-1 in his first season with the team and, with Ruttenberg, had a 16-3 doubles record. Junior Jon Bram, who went 6-3 last year, will likely play in the third spot, but Watson said that the last three of the six spots in the lineup are still up for grabs.

"We've added some good players to the roster, we have three freshman who are battling it out for the sixth spot," Ruttenberg said.

The Jumbos begin play Mar. 25 with a home match against Brandeis. They will face NESCAC foes on the ensuing Friday and Saturday hosting Connecticut College and Wesleyan.

"Our lineup is every bit as strong, or stronger, than ever," Watson said. "We have a lot of depth near the bottom."

Watson thinks that this could be a different season than usual due to improvement of teams around the conference.

"From what I see, it's going to be one of the most competitive seasons in a long time due to the tremendous depth of our conference," Watson said. "We are usually one of the top few teams in the league, but this year there aren't going to be any easy matches. We've got the defending National champs Williams, Bowdoin and Bates are very strong, and Amherst and Trinity are solid."

In terms of conference play, Ruttenberg also sees the NESCAC as highly competitive.

"Williams lost their top three players, so we can beat them this year. And Bowdoin and Middlebury are two of the top teams in the country," Ruttenberg said.

Another team Watson thinks Tufts could compete with in the postseason is non-conference rival MIT.

"MIT is solid, some are pointing to them as the team to beat this year," Watson said.

The key to the season will be for the team to say healthy. "Last year a couple of us were sore all season," Ruttenberg said. "These matches are on top of each other in 40 degree weather. It's not good for the body."