After a difficult 9-0 loss to the Div. I Boston University Terriers Saturday, the men's tennis team suffered another 9-0 defeat against NESCAC rival Amherst yesterday.
The Jumbos fought hard in the match, but were overpowered by the red-hot Lord Jeffs, dropping Tufts' NESCAC record to 2-3, which may thwart its hopes of a NESCAC Tournament appearance.
The match did not start out well for Tufts, as the team quickly dropped all three doubles matches. At No. 1 doubles, senior tri-captain Sean McCooey and senior Geoff Loh faced off against a challenging pair of junior Tal Avrahami and sophomore Zack Lerner in a one-sided 8-4 loss.
"They were a solid doubles team," Loh said. "They just outplayed us."
The other two doubles matches unfolded in much the same way, as Amherst came out strong and took care of business, finishing 8-4 and 8-5, respectively, in No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
Singles did not go much better for the Jumbos, but they fought hard nonetheless. At No.1, junior Will Fleder squared off with Lerner, one of the most talented players in the conference. Lerner had just upset Middlebury senior Alex Scott, the third-ranked player in the nation, on April 21, and he continued his hot streak yesterday.
Fleder quickly dropped the first set 6-2, but then he found his groove and began crushing ground strokes to the corners and attacking brilliantly, jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the second set. After this point, however, Lerner showed his dominance and took advantage of a few rare Fleder miscues to mount a comeback and take the second set 7-5.
At No. 2 singles, senior tri-captain Corey Keller battled hard in his final regular-season match for Tufts, but lost in two sets, 6-3, 6-2.
McCooey took the court at No. 3, looking for his 40th career win as a Jumbo. He quickly fell in the first set, but he then dominated the second to even the match 1-1. McCooey had had his calf taped for shin splints after playing doubles, and he showed clear signs of pain in the third set, unable to move well laterally as the match progressed. He could have defaulted since the team's match had already been decided but chose to play it out despite the pain, ultimately losing the match 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 and staying at 39 career wins.
Senior tri-captain Matt Gallin took the court at No. 4, but he faced another difficult opponent in Amherst junior Jeff Wan and lost 6-3, 6-0.
"I had to take advantage of every opportunity I was given just to get any points in the match," Gallin said. "[Wan] was really consistent in all aspects of his game."
At both No. 5 and No. 6, the Jumbos endured a pair of long, tedious matches but dropped both.
"It was the subtleties that won matches for Amherst," assistant coach Jim Watson said. "They volleyed better and were more aggressive. We fought hard and rarely ever gave points away, but heart and determination can only get you so far in a match."
The Jumbos headed into their Amherst match-up after a difficult and discouraging match on Saturday against BU. The match had little consequence, as Tufts was playing a team in an entirely separate division, but it did tire out the Jumbos and start the weekend off on a sour note.
Unfortunately for Tufts, the loss to Amherst may prove costly in today's NESCAC Tournament selection. The selection committee uses just five NESCAC results for each team to decide which six squads get a chance at the NESCAC title. Tufts rests at 2-3 in NESCAC play, having beaten a solid team in Trinity and another talented squad in Bates; however, Tufts coach Doug Eng fears that Sunday's 9-0 loss will persuade the committee to put a different team on the bracket.
"Tournament selection is a bit like the college application process," Eng said. "You hand in your scores, but you never know what the committee will choose."
Whether the season continues with the NESCAC Tournament or not, Eng is satisfied with his team's performance this season.
"We were unranked a month ago, and now we are in the top 20 in D-three," Eng said. "We went from nowhere to somewhere when no one expected it, and the year has really been a Cinderella story for us."
