It could have been a much more disappointing weekend for the Jumbos at the Wallach Invitational this weekend, were it not for some unanticipated performances.
In its last competition of the fall season, Tufts failed to advance past the first round of doubles play and dropped both of its match-ups in the A Draw. With this in mind, performances in the C and D Draws kept the Jumbos afloat, ultimately recording four victories in singles play.
"Right now we're missing a few of our starters, but for what we're capable of doing, I think we're pretty satisfied," coach Doug Eng said. "A lot of our players moved up and are playing harder, tougher opponents than last year. The team is getting used to playing up - like the Bulls did without Jordan. People who usually wouldn't usually start are now starting and are getting more experience as a result."
Senior Geoff Loh was a bright spot for the Jumbos, reaching the semifinal in the C bracket by outscoring his opponents from Southern Maine and Amherst with a total game record of 21-9. By defeating USM freshman Josh Warren 6-0, 3-6 (10-1) and Amherst freshman Daniel Gonzalez 6-3, 6-2, Loh vaulted into a showdown with freshman Tyler Anderson of the conference rival Bowdoin Polar Bears.
Battling against a seemingly flawless opponent in the first set, Loh was a little shaky, ultimately losing 6-1. Playing some catch-up tennis, Loh had the upper hand in the second set, up 5-4 and serving. But Anderson was too much to handle, and finally pulled out a 7-5 victory in the set.
"I think I played well," Loh said. "If I had figured [Anderson] out earlier, I think I could have won."
Freshmen Andrew Rosen and Bryan Wilner both advanced into the second round of play in the C and D brackets, respectively. Rosen breezed through his first match, quickly polishing off Amherst freshman Scott London 6-0, 6-1.
However, Rosen lost his next match against Bowdoin freshman Adam Davis, who eventually won the bracket. In a similar scenario, Wilner also easily won his first match in D bracket singles, 6-1, 6-0, but lost his second match to the eventual bracket winner, freshman Zach Fenno of Bates, 6-3, 6-0.
The A singles bracket, however, did not go as smoothly for the Tufts squad. In a battle of two NESCAC leaders, senior tri-captain Corey Keller ran into early trouble against Bowdoin senior co-captain Sam Bitetti, dropping two straight sets 6-0, 6-1, and failing to advance past the first round. Middlebury freshman Andrew Lee knocked Bitetti out in the next round, a sign of the tough competition around the league this season.
Senior Craig Kunkes also dropped his A Draw singles match to Bates freshman Michael Reiss.
It was sophomore Vinh Tran who recorded the only Tufts victory in either A or B, cruising past Brandeis senior Jordan Bieber in the B bracket 6-2, 6-3. Tran, however, ran into senior Jeff Lawrence of Amherst in the next round, falling 6-3, 7-5. Lawrence advanced to the finals.
"I think I played pretty well," Tran said. "I think I played better the second match, but I missed a few key points."
Despite their successes in the singles brackets, the Jumbos did not fare as well in doubles play. The Jumbos put four duos out on the court - two in the A bracket and two in the B - but not one of them emerged victorious.
Brandeis seniors Adam Sher and Jordan Beiber eliminated the Jumbos' front-runners, Keller and Loh, 8-5 in the first round. The freshman duo of Jon Trott and Daniel Landers, also vying for a spot in the second round of the doubles A bracket, did not fare much better, losing 8-2 to the eventual semifinalists, sophomore Ben Stein and freshman Amrit Rupasinghe of Bates.
"[Our] doubles play is getting better, but it still needs to be picked up," Eng said. "We're making better volleys, but we still need to play more aggressively."
As the fall season comes to a close and more than five months remain between now and the first match of the spring season, the team has plenty to look forward to before the spring season begins. With senior tri-captain Sean McCooey back on the court in the spring, the team will have more depth and experience that it hopes to harness into a successful 2007.
