The men's tennis team's match against Connecticut College yesterday was like having a minor quiz before a big test. The Jumbos easily defeated the Camels 7-0 yesterday afternoon, but they will face tougher competition this weekend against Williams and Amherst. The Jumbos now have a winning record of 2-1.
Despite the importance of the upcoming matches, the team did not lose focus on the current game. Coach Jim Watson emphasized to his players during practice this week that they should focus on the task at hand - beating the Camels.
"I told the guys before the match, there was absolutely to be no fooling around," Watson said. "And to their credit, they responded. They realized like I did that this was a match in which you could easily lose your focus."
Watson could have used its reserve players or experimented with new techniques, but he decided to avoid lineup changes and play his regulars instead.
"We have tremendous depth on this team," Watson said. "I could have used any of my reserve players today and won. But I played the regulars because they were so eager to play after spring break."
Junior Paul Roberts echoed his coach's sentiments regarding the relative ease with which the Jumbos sent Connecticut College home before dark.
"[The Camels] were so over-matched," Roberts said. "We could have used any strategy to win out there."
After the match, Watson had little criticism for his team, considering the Jumbos won in just over two hours. The short duration is a rarity for a tennis match, meaning a Dewick dinner might have been in store for the team. For comparison, the Jumbos' matchup against Bates lasted almost five hours.
Senior co-captain and top-ranked Jumbo Rifat Perahya modestly acknowledged that despite the team's success yesterday, there's still room for improvement.
"There are still many things we need to work on," Perahya said. "We have been anticipating these games this weekend against Williams and Amherst for a while, but we need to attack, attack and attack some more if we want to win."
"We need to improve our volley skills, but we also need to come to the net more," Perahya added.
Watson agrees, adding that the NESCAC favors aggressiveness over being a pusher.
"This used to be a league where you could get away with being a pusher. But you simply can't do it anymore," Watson said. "That's why [Roger] Federer is dominating right now and [Andy] Roddick is starting to struggle. It seems like a bit of a national trend."
Watson is also happy with his team's high first-serve percentage, especially in light of shoulder problems that have plagued the Jumbos this season.
"We are serving well and I think we are only going to get better," Watson said.
Sophomore Sean McCooey was encouraged by the success of his fellow double teams in the Jumbos' first NESCAC win over the Camels. When Tufts played Bates a couple of weeks ago, McCooey and his partner, sophomore Geoff Loh, were the only Jumbos double team to win their match. The other two doubles teams lost their matches, but all three came out on top against the Camels.
"It's a great feeling when you're not the only team to win," McCooey said. "Obviously you want your play to benefit the rest of the team and I think that happened for all of us today."
"Its also not bad to keep up [the doubles team's] No. 12 ranking in the country along with our No. 20 team ranking nationally," McCooey added.
