Tufts defeated Babson 5-2 in the Jumbos' final home match of the season yesterday at Voute Courts. The Jumbos won four of the six singles points and lost the doubles points. The bigger story, however, was senior co-captain Adam Yates and coach Watson winning their final home match.
Yates won his individual match, a satisfying victory for someone who missed last year and a large part of this season with injuries.
"It's a tremendous feeling, it is something that I can take with me," Yates said. "It couldn't have happened without a tremendous support network. My teammates have been great."
As for Watson the match made him realize that his career was coming to end, taking with him memories of triumph and disappointment.
"I have to be honest this match made me feel like it was the end," Watson said after capturing his 201st victory. "To win the final match at home is just special. It is just nice to go out on a winning note."
Over the weekend, the team competed in the NESCAC tournament at Amherst, where it did better than was expected considering its injured list, finishing seventh in 10.
The Jumbos were plagued by their share of injuries. Senior co-captain Rifat Perahya is out for the season and junior Ben Alexander has missed the last 10 matches. Yates, who has struggled with injury problems the last two seasons, gave it a go but retired early in his first match.
"Considering all the injuries, I thought we did quite well," sophomore Geoff Loh said. "With all the injuries, I think that players like Sean [McCooey] and Paul [Roberts] have not just stepped up their game, but have been great players all season long."
McCooey, a sophomore, and Roberts, a junior, were among the lone bright spots in the Jumbos seventh placed finish. Each was forced to play at a higher seed and responded with wins. Also, freshman William Fleder was able to advance to the semi-finals.
Roberts won his first match against Connecticut College in straight sets, setting up a showdown with Danny Babkes, the number 18 player in Division Three.
Roberts certainly put more than a scare into his opponent. He lost the first set to Bapkes, 7-5. Roberts made him work for every point, using his ground-strokes and lobs to contend with Bapkes.
Roberts' athleticism helped him capture the second set. The third set, however, was one that Roberts will remember for a long time. It was the type of set decided by inches, but eventually went Bapkes' way. Bapkes won the set in a third set tiebreaker, after some head-turning rallies. A couple of down the line shots proved the difference.
The ground strokes and serve of Bapkes was just too much for Roberts, who frustrated his opponent by extending the length of points to almost exhausting levels.
"I think in almost every match this season I have been over-matched," Roberts said. "However, I always feel like I am the most athletic player on the court."
Roberts, however, probably played the best tennis of his season during his doubles match. He and freshman William Fleder were the number one doubles team. There was certainly enough confidence between them when they took on the No.1 division three doubles team in the country.
Roberts and Fleder jumped out to a 5-1 lead in their eight game pro-set, stunning their Middlebury opponents, Edmunds and Waldron. It was a match that attracted many fans.
"I had my whole family out there cheering for me," Roberts said. "It really felt special."
Fleder's serving, combined with Roberts' return game, were the keys to the great start.
"We were playing way over our heads," Roberts said. "I never knew that I could return the way I did and William could serve the way he did. It was just one of those days."
After trailing 5-1, Middlebury won seven straight seven games, capturing an 8-5 victory.
"In the end, we were just over-matched," Roberts said.
The team went on to win the doubles competition in its bracket. It was just one of many brackets.
The other topic that has been percolating in the Jumbos minds is Coach Watson winning his 200th game against BU last week. The team celebrated the milestone by going out for a team dinner.
"Coach was full, so we ended up eating all the cake," Roberts said.
Tufts plays Williams on Thursday. Despite the fact that Watson collected his 200th and 201st win, he has not beaten Williams in over 10-years.
"To send him out with a victory at Williams, I don't know what could be better," Roberts said. "For us it almost has become a sense of obligation now."
