Cool temperatures and gusty winds yesterday afternoon welcomed back a men's tennis squad that was returning from a spring break trip in sunny Miami, Florida. Long sleeves and all, the Jumbos prevailed over the Conn. College Camels 8-1, taking two of three doubles matches along the way.
Tufts has been plagued by its doubles play since the start of the season, so it was a big step for the team to keep all three doubles matches close and ultimately capture two.
The team's other major accomplishment was making the necessary adjustment to play well in the harsh New England weather. With big matches coming up against Trinity and Bates - matches that could potentially be played outside - it was crucial for the Jumbos to make the adjustment before traveling to Hartford, Conn. on Tuesday.
"We did this on purpose because of the Trinity match," senior captain Will Fleder said. "I think the adjustment was good. Nobody wanted to do this because these conditions are never fun to play in, but I think everyone is pleased with how it went."
With the possibility of the matches being either indoors or outdoors depending on the severity of conditions, the Jumbos stressed the need to be ready for whatever is thrown at them.
"We won this match outside, so we are ready for indoor matches or outdoor matches - fast or slow," coach Doug Eng said. "Whatever it is, I want the guys prepared for anything."
Tufts certainly proved it could handle the conditions with solid doubles results and stifling singles play.
At first doubles, Fleder and sophomore Jon Trott played the most exciting match of the day, battling to an 8-8 deadlock before pulling out the tiebreaker by a score of 7-3.
"We switched up the doubles lineup a little bit," Fleder said. "Jon and I are playing together and we think that our big serves and returns will work well. I think that [freshmen Tony Carucci and Jake Fountain] are starting to play better. They are just freshmen, so there is obviously a learning curve, and they're just starting to come together a little better."
The freshman duo at second doubles pulled through with an 8-5 result. The only Tufts loss on the day came from third doubles, where sophomore Daniel Landers and freshman Tom Wilmanski dropped the match 8-5.
"One of their guys had a really big return, so it was hard to attack the net," Landers said. "We also had lots of unforced errors."
Tufts flexed its dominating lineup in singles, taking all six matches in straight sets. Fleder had no trouble with his opponent at No. 1, winning the contest 6-3, 6-2.
"I was serving well outdoors, which is big for me," Fleder said. "These conditions are not optimal, but I was able to get a good rhythm. I just need to keep my first serve percentage up high and keep my feet moving. I have some tough opponents coming up, but I have beaten them before."
At No. 3 doubles, sophomore Andrew Rosen was tied with his opponent 3-3 before breaking the match open and winning the next nine games to take a 6-3, 6-0 victory.
"My opponent was at net and I hit a topspin lob over his head," Rosen said. "His game was coming to net, and that really took him off the net. So that's really what changed the match - that one point."
Some of Rosen's teammates followed similar patterns of finding success midway through the match, as Carucci lost four games in the first set before taking his match 6-4, 6-2, and sophomore Brian Wilner allowed his opponent to capture three games in the first set and then swept the second.
The 8-1 victory and the sweep of singles was precisely what the Jumbos had in mind going into a week that holds three of the biggest NESCAC matches of the season against Trinity, Bates and Bowdoin.
Both Fleder and Eng stressed the importance of building up confidence in doubles so as to avoid beginning matches down 2-1 or even 3-0.
"We need to obviously improve on doubles," Fleder said. "We have to improve on closing in volleys. There's a reason we don't win doubles - our volleys aren't up to the par of other teams."
"We are creating more movement," Eng added. "Especially at two doubles, Tony and Jake really try to make things happen, but I think we need to do it more at the other doubles. We need to recognize when our opponents are returning well and we have to either change our formation or just not rush our shots.
"You have to get past the serve and return and the first volley. When we are losing our points, we are breaking down either on the return or on the first volley."
