Tennis pulls out victory in close match with Bantams

Men's tennis coach Jim Watson let out a sigh of relief yesterday afternoon after junior Jon Bram and freshman Jon Rubenstein emerged from their third doubles match with an 8-1 victory, securing the Jumbos' 4-3 win over the Trinity Bantams.

Yesterday's match, along with all of Tufts' remaining matches are must win situations, according to Watson. "We have to win today and against Amherst tomorrow. We basically have to win the rest of our matches," he said before the match.

Playing their singles early for fear of rain, Tufts split the first six matches with Trinity. Wins came from sophomore Rifat Perahya at number two, who won 6-1, 7-5, from junior Adam Yates in straight sets at number five, and from freshman standout Ben Alexander, who added to his team-high win total of eight. Senior co-captains Dave Ruttenberg and Danny Lang dropped the first and fourth matches respectively. Bram was defeated in singles at the number three spot.

"Last year we were having easier wins," Perahya said of the deadlocked singles outcome. "The level of play in the league has gone way up."

Lang and Yates lost a disappointing number two doubles match, but a win at the top doubles spot by the team of Ruttenberg and Perahya tied the doubles score at 1-1, setting the stage for Bram and Rubenstein's heroics.

"I lost my singles match, and I wanted it to come down to my dubs." Bram said. "It was exactly what I wanted, and we were exactly where we wanted to be. We were zoning. It just felt good."

The victory gave Tufts a winning record for the first time since Saturday, Apr. 5. It also gave the Jumbos their first back to back wins since March.

"This could be big," Bram said. "It was a good clutch win. It could carry in to the rest of the season."

The win will be a boost for the team going into today's match at Amherst. Watson is worried however, that Amherst's home court may give it a big advantage. "Temperatures are supposed to drop and we may have to play indoors," Watson said. "Their indoor facilities are very, very fast and that would not be to our advantage."

The team hopes the win over Trinity will help them in their quest to make the Regional Tournament.

"All we are concerned with right now is making regionals," Ruttenberg said.

Perahya agreed. "Once we get into regionals, then it is work time. We know we can beat any team in this league," he said.

The team will make the trip to Amherst today for a 3 p.m. match against the Lord Jeffs. The team will have some time off before its match against Babson next Tuesday, and will finish its regular season against NESCAC foe Bates on Wednesday.

"Staying positive is the only thing we need to do," Ruttenberg said of the rest of the Jumbo's season.