Three weeks after Tufts made a statement with a thrilling 4-3 regular season victory over Bowdoin in Medford, the Polar Bears got the best of the Jumbos when it mattered most with a 5-2 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The loss brings the men's tennis team's season to a close with a record of 7-6.
Bowdoin, which finished in fourth place, right behind Tufts, in last week's NESCAC Championships, improved to 11-5 with the win. The Polar Bears advanced to meet Williams, the tournament's host, in yesterday's Northeast Regional Finals. The Ephs cruised to the national quarterfinals yesterday with a convincing 7-0 win over Bowdoin.
After the Polar Bears claimed the doubles point to open the proceedings, the teams split the next four matches, taking two straight-set victories each. Sophomore Ben Alexander had the easiest outing of the day for Tufts, taking a 6-1, 6-1 victory over John Carolan at third singles. In the sixth position, freshman Corey Keller had similar results with a 6-1, 6-2 win over John Posey.
Unlike the previous match in Medford, the Jumbos could not hang on to momentum acquired from the easy singles wins. At the top of the lineup, Macafee Burke avenged his April loss to junior tri-captain Rifat Perahya with a 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory at first singles. Sophomore Jon Rubenstein, whose dramatic win clinched the match for the Brown and Blue in April, could not stage a repeat performance, as Thomas Jencks also got his revenge with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Rubenstein at fourth singles.
In the fifth slot, freshman Sean McCooey fought hard over three sets, but in the end, Sam Bitetti came back for Bowdoin with a 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-0 win. Senior tri-captain Jon Bram also fell short, with a loss to Patrick Keneally at second singles (6-3, 7-5).
At first doubles, the tandem of Bram and Perahya fell short with an 8-5 loss to Burke and Keneally. Although the team's season is over, the two Jumbos captains will now await a possible invite to the NCAA Individual Tournament. Perahya could be invited for singles, and he and Bram could also gain an invitation for their strong doubles play this season.
Despite this season's success, the loss to conclude the season was a bitter pill to swallow for the team members, especially against Bowdoin, a match-up that developed into an intense rivalry in 2004.
"It's a tough way to end [the season]," Bram said. "We really wanted that one. We dislike [Bowdoin], and they dislike us."
After Keller and Geoffrey Loh fell to Carolan and Brett Lawson at third doubles by a score of 8-3, the second doubles match that pitted Rubenstein and McCooey against Bitetti and Jencks was halted in order to begin singles play.
After finishing third in last weekend's NESCAC Championships, the team had one more order of business to attend to in the regular season before heading back to Williams for the tournament match with Bowdoin. In Wednesday's match at Babson, Tufts came away with a 6-1 victory over the Beavers.
While their NCAA Tournament seeding had already been determined, the match was important both for the sake of momentum and for the players hopeful for an individual tournament invite. With their 8-4 win at first doubles over Mike Brooks and Jon Martin -- ranked tenth in the most recent ITA Northeast poll -- Perahya and Bram made a strong pitch for placement into the tournament.
Perahya could not follow the doubles triumph with a similar performance at singles, however, as he fell 7-6 (4), 6-3 at first singles to Gabriel Ackermann. The loss was the only blemish on the Jumbos' day, with the exception of Keller and Loh falling 8-1 in the third doubles slot, a loss that did not cost the team the doubles point.
The rest of the singles lineup claimed straight-set wins over the Beavers. Bram had the hardest outing of the day with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Blake Leong at second singles, while McCooey's 6-1, 6-1 conquest in the fifth slot over Sherwin Parkhurst was the easiest victory of the day for Tufts.
While the end of a season is always disappointing, it is safe to say the squad's 2004 campaign can be labeled a success. Despite setbacks suffered due to injuries, the Jumbos still put on a strong showing in the NESCAC Championships and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Bram, the only player Tufts will lose to graduation this spring, had nothing but good things to say about the year his team put together.
"I would rate this as the best team I've been on in my four, even with the injuries," the senior tri-captain said. "Everyone stepped up and put that much more effort in at practice all year."
