Hot off a 5-4 win over a seventh-ranked Trinity team on Tuesday, the men's tennis team is eyeing another key NESCAC victory today, this time over the No. 16 Bowdoin Polar Bears in Brunswick, Maine.
The unranked Jumbos have taken four of their last five matches to improve their record to 6-2, which included one loss to No. 6-ranked Williams Saturday. Tufts is 1-1 on the road this year while Bowdoin is 1-1 on its home courts.
The Jumbos will look to put their momentum to use against a 10-2 Polar Bear team that had won seven consecutive matches before falling to Bates 5-4 on Wednesday, a team Tufts downed 6-3 on Sunday. Both teams also notched victories against Brandeis, Babson and Trinity.
Tufts will likely field a lineup similar to the one it has used the past few matches. In doubles, seniors Geoff Loh and tri-captain Sean McCooey will probably start at the No. 1 spot, with senior tri-captain Matt Gallin and junior Will Fleder coming in at No. 2 and senior tri-captain Corey Keller and freshman Jon Trott rounding out doubles from No. 3.
In singles, Fleder should return to the top of the ladder, followed by Keller in the second spot and McCooey at No. 3. Rounding out the remainder of lineup should be Gallin at No. 4, freshman Andrew Rosen at No. 5, and senior Craig Kunkes checking in in the sixth slot.
The Jumbos hope a strong performance in doubles will tip the scale in their favor heading into singles matches. In all but one of its victories, Tufts has won at least two of the three doubles matches heading into singles play, while both of Bowdoin's losses have come when it failed to take a lead after its doubles teams left the court.
The Jumbos will also need to reverse a past trend if it hopes to beat the Polar Bears on the road: in the last four seasons of play between Tufts and Bowdoin have split 2-2 with the home team coming out on top in each of those contests.
The match begins at 1 p.m. today on Bowdoin's outdoor courts, but inclement weather may force the match indoors.
-by Thomas Eager
