When the men's tennis team faced off against Bates and Trinity in successive matches two years ago, it polished off both teams in convincing fashion. This time around, however, the tables turned on the Jumbo squad, which fell to the Bobcats last Saturday and dropped its matchup 9-0 yesterday against Trinity.
Although Tufts recorded a loss against nationally ranked No. 24 Bates, the Jumbos hoped to build off momentum gained from their first NESCAC win of the season against Wesleyan on Saturday. A win might have allowed the Jumbos to move up the national rankings ladder and increase their chances of making NESCACs. But the No. 30 Tufts team could not find its shot and came up short.
"[Coach Doug Eng] told us that we have to forget the match against Bates and build on our match against Wesleyan, to just go out and fight," freshman Morrie Bossen said. "Coach told us to really zone in on moving, hitting and using our individual strengths to pull out on top."
Pulling out on top proved difficult in doubles play, however, as the Jumbos played competitively with their Bantams opponents but were unable to secure victories in any of the three matches. In the No. 1 position, junior tri-captain Jon Trott and Bossen matched up against Bantam opponents senior Gautam Samarth and freshman Charles McConnell, who are undefeated in season play. A series of competitive volleys tested Tufts' endurance until the Bantams found an opening and ran away with the match 8-5.
"It was a really competitive match and we got down early," Bossen said. "We came back and had a chance to serve for the match, up 8-7, and there was a really long point that they ended up winning. The whole match was long volley exchanges. It swung momentum back in their favor and we lost in a tiebreaker, but I think we played really well.
"Gautam really knows how to win," Bossen continued. "It came down to who could crash the middle. Whatever team was able to do that won those first six points. After that, we got unlucky. They hit shots that just clipped the line ... I missed a return, and the last four points were really fast. It snowballed from there."
In the singles lineup, Tufts notched strong performances in the middle of the ladder, but it wasn't enough to record wins in any of the six matches. In the No. 5 position, freshman Garrett Schuman won his first set but fell in his second, forcing the match to an unsuccessful third-set tiebreaker. Similarly, No. 4 sophomore Tony Carucci played a competitive match despite losing in straight sets. His opponent, Trinity senior David Yahng, made it to the Final Four of the ITA Regional Tournament in doubles play before losing to a Bowdoin team that competed in the championship game.
"My opponent played an all-court game, so even when I was playing the ball near to the net, he was there to volley back," Carucci said. "He had the best hands I've seen in Div. III tennis. He picked off literally everything and had a lot of spin on his shots, so I kept my stroke as deep as possible.
"Despite losing, I think it was my best match of the spring," Carucci continued. "As a team, we all played better compared to our performance against Bates. If I had played at the level I did today, I could've beaten my Bates opponent."
Tufts travels to Brunswick, Maine tomorrow to face off against the No. 11 Bowdoin Polar Bears. The 6-2 NESCAC rival has stood out in the conference, taking the NESCAC championship in 2008. During the fall, the Polar Bears' doubles team of senior Alex White and sophomore Stephen Sullivan advanced to the ITA Regional Championship match before losing to Bates. While the Jumbos have had difficulty beating Bowdoin in the past, the squad is determined to make the most of its remaining four NESCAC games, including one against Hamilton on Sunday, and pull off an upset to shake up the conference and national rankings.
"We know we're up against some of the best teams in the country, but we're ranked as well and we just have to go out and play competitively," Bossen said. "We're not written out of this. Hamilton is a weaker team and we have a lot of confidence for that match.
"We may be switching up the rotation to get more players on the court.," Bossen continued. "We're excited for both of them, but we're really focusing on Bowdoin right now ... Any chance to pull off an upset is our chance to rise up in the national rankings. The non-ranked teams are also on our mind, but we're looking to teams ranked in the NESCAC, like Middlebury or Williams, that are must-wins."
