The men's tennis team's fall season came to an end this past weekend with mixed results in the Wallach Invitational at Bates College. Sophomore Sean McCooey and the doubles team of junior Corey Keller and senior Paul Roberts advanced to the finals of their respective brackets, and freshman Vin Tran and junior Geof Loh made it to the round of four before being ousted.
In the A bracket, Bates senior Will Boe-Wiegaard trumped everyone, including a 6-1, 6-0 defeat of Tufts sophomore Will Fleder in the round of eight. Fleder had eked out close wins in the first two rounds, taking each match to a third set super-tiebreaker.
Senior tri-captain Paul Roberts was knocked out in the first round of A singles by Colby sophomore Zach Schuman (6-4, 6-1).
Tufts had two representatives in the tournament's B bracket. Senior tri-captain Jon Rubenstein beat Bates first-year Mike Sherman (6-3, 6-4) before falling to Amherst sophomore Tal Avrahami in a close second-round match (7-5, 7-5). McCooey's path to the finals included a 6-4, 6-2 win over Bowdoin's Alex White and a tight 6-3, 1-6, (10-7) edge of Amherst Zack Lerner. After taking the first set in the finals 6-4, McCooey fell to Bates senior captain Ben Crane.
In the C draw, Tran notched easy 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-1 wins to earn a spot in the quarterfinals, where he was bested by Amherst sophomore Austin Moller (7-6 (4), 6-4). In the other half of the bracket, Loh also advanced to the round of eight before losing to Colby Junior Tom Gildersleeve (6-1,6-3).
The Jumbos' doubles teams were eliminated from the doubles A and B brackets by Amherst's two pairs. In the first round, Moller and senior Josh Rilla defeated Fleder and Rubenstein 8-4. In the B bracket, Tran and junior Craig Kunkes fell to Amherst's Avrahami and sophomore Jeff Wan 8-5.
With the fall season behind them, the Jumbos cast their eyes on the spring, when they will play the majority of their matches. The short first-semester season is more educational than it is competitive, as these past two tournaments have been used to examine the players and try out different doubles combinations.
"This event becomes useful for testing out things and scouting appointments," coach Doug Eng said of the Wallach Invitational.
Until match play resumes, the Jumbos will be spending the winter staying in shape and practicing within a new training regimen. In his first season as head coach after serving as assistant coach under Jim Watson, Eng will be implementing some changes in the team's practice agenda. The team will now train in themes, focusing on certain aspects of the game each session.
"Practices are a lot more drill-orientated and Doug has incorporated a lot of new strategies into our game," Roberts said.
"Doug has done a great job organizing the team and getting us ready for the season," Rubenstein said.
"As a sport scientist, I will also try to generally stay ahead of the crowd," Eng said. "So if something comes out, we will be the first to try it out."
With its season split between semesters, the team will be spending a lot of time together. As the fall season has progressed, the team has become a lot closer, meeting for team dinners at least once a week.
"Team chemistry gets better each day," Roberts said. "We all really get along and the younger players have good role models to look up to."
Coach Eng is confident that, with practice, the Jumbos will be competitors in the NESCAC. As the team practices its conditioning and strategies, it will continue to grow as a unit and hopefully make a bid for the league title.
"We have talent, but often it is the smarter team with more desire to win and capacity to work that produces the 'W'," Eng said.
