Tennis teams around the NESCAC are no doubt pleased David Ruttenberg graduated from Tufts in 2003. The former captain of the men's tennis team finished his career with a 41-21 singles record and was the glue that held the Tufts team together on and off the court during his senior season.
The Jumbos, meanwhile, will have to adjust to life without their former team leader.
In practice, Ruttenberg consistently trained harder than anyone else. His work ethic gave the team a source of inspiration, and provided an exemplary model for the underclassmen.
"He always worked like a dog in practice and during matches," senior captain Jonathan Bram said.
Other players echoed Bram's sentiments.
"We will not be able to replace his leadership, and, to be honest, we are not even trying to, because I don't see anybody on the team who can do that," junior Rifat Perahya said.
On the court, Ruttenberg deflected pressure away from his younger teammates by occupying the opponents' number one seeded singles players. Although he finished with a disappointing 5-8 singles record last season, rising stars such as Perahya and Bram flourished in the number two and three slots, respectively, combining for a 17-13 record. Repeating this success could prove difficult this year as the duo moves up to number one and number two without Ruttenberg leading the pack.
The loss of Ruttenberg will also change the doubles groupings for the team. The Ruttenberg and Perahya combination finished with a 24-10 record in their two seasons together. Perahya and Bram will now make up the number one doubles team while junior Adam Yates and sophmore Ben Alexander will occupy the number two slot.
Ruttenberg's skills will be sorely missed this season. Among his most dominant strengths were a blazing serve and an impeccable net game.
"His serve was incredible but his game at the net was probably the best in the
NESCAC," Perahya said. "He had hands like pillows."
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