With the 2004 season in the books, Tufts tennis bids farewell to one of its most consistent performers of the past four years.
After capping off his Jumbo career with a second-place finish in the first doubles fight of the NESCAC Tournament, the most memorable moment of his career, senior tri-captain Jon Bram has hit his final winner in a Tufts uniform.
When adversity struck the team early in the 2004 season, it was clear that Bram was playing with a team-first attitude this spring. After losing junior co-captain Adam Yates to injury, Bram was forced to move up in the lineup to second singles, facing some of the stiffest competition the NESCAC had to offer.
Bram, an economics major, only mustered a 5-10 singles record his senior year, but his vocal presence both during and after his matches often lit a fire beneath the young Tufts squad.
In a 4-3 win over Bowdoin in April, despite his three-set loss, it was Bram and his boisterous - and shirtless - cheering section that helped give his teammates the emotional support necessary for a win.
He ended his career with a 29-26 singles record, but it was his doubles play that will be remembered most.
In 2004, Bram, the team's lone senior, partnered with the team's only active junior, tri-captain Rifat Perahya. Along with their NESCAC finals appearance, which earned them both All-Conference Team selections, the two put together a 9-7 mark on the season, barely missing a spot in the NCAA Div. III Individual Tournament.
Bram models his topspin-heavy game after pros such as Alex Corretja and Juan Carlos Ferrero. While his best singles play comes from the baseline, he has become extremely aggressive at the net in doubles. He knew from the start that the pairing of the team's two elder statesmen would be a successful one.
"I knew [Perahya and I would] be really tough together. We're both very intense on the court," Braham said. "We started off well, then we had a couple of bad matches, but we picked it up in time for NESCACs."
In 2003, Bram partnered with current sophomore Jon Rubenstein at third doubles, putting together an 11-6 record on the year, including a NESCAC semi-finals appearance. As a freshman and sophomore, Bram learned the art of college doubles, as he and Mark Fitzgerald went 13-11 in their two years as partners at second doubles.
All in all, his 33-25 career doubles record gave him a 62-51 overall record in 113 total matches as a Jumbo, but there is much more to Jon Bram's name than statistics.
Described as a B.M.O.C. (Big Man on Campus) by head coach Jim Watson, now in his 23rd season, Bram set a positive example for his team, despite his animated personality occasionally frustrating his coach.
The tri-captain had only good things to say about Watson.
"We've had some good times together," Bram said. "I've enjoyed playing under him. He's been really good to me."
The women's tennis team holds a soft spot in Bram's heart, as his sister Becky, currently a sophomore, has already made a name for herself on the court. One has to wonder what the results would be if the NESCAC offered mixed doubles play.
"I think Becky and I would take a NESCAC mixed doubles tournament," Bram said. "We could be the only brother-sister combo. Becky and I play really well together."
Bram is the only player graduating this year, but Watson said that it is a big hole to fill.
"[Bram is] a very gregarious guy," Watson remarked. "He keeps the guys loose, but when it's time to play, he gets down to business."
While Bram will be missed by his teammates and coaches, he too looks back on his time on the Medford-Somerville campus and remembers the individuals that shaped his time here.
"I'm going to miss the tennis guys, and I'm going to miss my fraternity [Delta Tau Delta] brothers. I'm definitely going to miss the people here the most," Bram remarked. "It's been a real fun ride. I love Tufts."
