With a 3-5 record entering Wednesday's match against Brandeis, Tufts has not yet afforded itself the opportunity to take any matches for granted. This match was certainly no exception, as the Jumbos narrowly escaped from Voute Courts with a 4-3 win over the Judges.
"They certainly presented a much bigger challenge then expected," senior co-captain Adam Yates said.
The match marked the return of senior Rifat Perahya, who had been out since April 1 with a knee injury. He won his doubles match out of the No. 1 slot but only played one set of his singles match.
In his doubles match, a valiant effort was needed for Perahya and junior Jon Rubenstein to pull out a victory. Trailing 5-2 early, the pair won seven of their last nine games to win the match 9-7. Perahya especially was able to get to the net and make some clutch volleys down the stretch.
"You have to give Rifat credit, he really stepped it up," Yates said. "Considering that it was his first game back and he was able to step up his game in order to win the first doubles was huge for our team."
Rubenstein echoed his teammate's sentiments.
"He gave me a huge emotional lift," Rubenstein said. "I was kind of down after we fell behind 5-2, but Rifat told me to keep my head up."
Rubenstein understands that his role on the No. 1 doubles team is to keep the ball alive. He feels he did just that in the last nine games against Brandeis.
"I was able to return the ball really well in the second part of the match," Rubenstein said. "That has been our strategy all along. I need to put the ball in the play, so Rifat can make something happen."
Perahya, whose strength is volleying and putting points away, used his ground strokes to force his opponent to retreat to the baseline. This allowed him to come to the net and make big shots.
Perahya classified his match as a good first win, but acknowledged that sometimes he and Jon were pressing too much, trying to hit winners that simply could not be executed.
"We didn't play our best game," Perahya said. "We didn't start off well because we forgot the little things. Instead of trying to get the balls back and wait for the opportunity to hit a winner, we were trying early on to hit winners that simply weren't there."
Knee pain prevented Perahya from completing his singles match. A victory, however, was anything but a guarantee. His opponent won the first set 7-5.
"I think it was a wise decision for me to retire after one set," Perahya said. "The trainer told me that if I would have continued, I would have had to miss the biggest match of the season, at Amherst [on Tuesday]."
Ironically, Perahya's doubles partner, Rubenstein, was forced to quit his singles match as well, after his Achilles started to ache, re-aggravating an injury he got last weekend. He lost the first set 7-6 and was losing in the second set 3-0.
The injury bug has also affected junior Ben Alexander, who sat out his second straight match with a wrist injury.
Yates was the only other Jumbo to lose his singles match. He lost 6-4, 6-2. But the Jumbos' fortunes were helped by junior Paul Roberts, sophomore Sean McCooey and freshman William Fleder, who all churned out two set victories.
For Roberts, his win should be a confidence boost after he had been having troubles in the number one and two spots in Perahya's absence.
For the Jumbos, their win in their sole game of the week was a welcome occurrence, considering last week the team suffered three losses on the road.
Next Tuesday's match at Amherst will be perhaps the biggest of the season. A win and the Jumbos should be a lock for the regional tournament. But nothing is guaranteed for the now 4-5 squad.
