There certainly weren't any rookie jitters for the men's tennis team on Wednesday.
Just four months after losing five seniors to graduation, the Jumbos took the court for the first match of its fall season, and the new members of the team didn't disappoint.
Bolstered by the play of three freshman starters - Jake Fountain, Tony Carrucci and Jared Glick - the squad defeated the Salve Regina Seahawks 6-3 on its home Voute Courts.
In addition to its three rookie starters, the team also has five other first-years on the roster, making for an inexperienced crew. But judging from their first performance, it's clear they didn't need much time to adjust to college play.
"The freshmen played really well in this match, and we can definitely see what we need to work on," senior captain Will Fleder said. "They are very talented and motivated, and we have high hopes for them this year."
Between singles and doubles, Fountain, Carrucci and Glick combined to go 4-0, giving Tufts all but two of its points on the day.
Fountain played his first collegiate match at No. 4 singles and won in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. Two other freshmen rounded off the singles ladder with wins, as Carrucci dominated at No. 5 (6-1, 6-1) and Glick took home the win at No. 6 with a score of 6-2, 6-3. Carrucci and Fountain also battled to a win at No. 2 doubles, 8-5.
"Jake and Tony make a great team," Fleder said. "We now have lots of depth in doubles and most of the time we should be able to take two out of three."
The Jumbos also took No. 3 doubles easily, as Fleder and sophomore Daniel Landers rolled to victory, 8-3.
The only doubles match that Tufts didn't take on Wednesday was at No. 1, where sophomores Jon Trott and Brian Wilner took on the Seahawk duo of senior Robbie Norton and freshman Trey Van Buskirk. Trott and Wilner struggled to find a rhythm, ultimately falling 8-3. Although Tufts has plenty of options when it comes to doubles play, many of which were exercised successfully on Wednesday, the pairs are not yet set.
"Our number one, two and three doubles teams are all about the same," coach Doug Eng said. "We will just have to keep trying things and see what works for us."
In the top half of the singles lineup, however, the Jumbos did not find as much success.
"The matches that we lost were when we just didn't play smart," Eng said. "We were not trying the tactics we needed to win. We just have got to play a little smarter and keep our heads in the match."
At No. 1, Fleder battled a quad strain throughout the first set of his match before retiring in the second. Fleder's ailment will keep him from participating in the ITA Regionals at Williams this weekend, but because it comes so early in the season, he is not worried about it having lasting effects on his game.
"I am very disappointed about the injury," Fleder said. "I am not used to getting injured, but it shouldn't be too long before I am back on the court."
Trott followed up Fleder at No. 2 singles and took the first set against Salve Regina senior Jason Lago before falling in the second to force a third set. Due to time restrictions, the match was decided by a first-to-10 super-tiebreaker, which Trott lost to drop the match 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5).
The No. 3 singles match was a nice surprise for the Jumbos, as sophomore Andrew Rosen stepped up after playing No. 6 singles last year and won in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.
With the ITA Regionals kicking off today, the Jumbos hope their rookies will continue to improve. Right now, the team is just trying to take a step forward during every match.
"Andrew and I are the only returning starters," Fleder said. "Getting experience is really our biggest thing right now."
