Torrential rain forced Saturday's men's tennis match against MIT into the Gantcher Center, but the change of scenery did little to turn the tide in the Jumbos' favor. Tufts entered the match knowing it was in for a tough fight, and though it fell to the Engineers 5-4, the team left pleased with its overall performance.
When they last faced MIT on April 22, the Jumbos fell 6-3 in a double-edged loss that handed MIT the national No. 30 ranking, a standing previously held by Tufts. With revenge on their minds, the Jumbos did not go down last Saturday without a struggle, forcing two doubles tie-breakers and two three-set matches in singles.
"MIT has recently gotten very good, and they've added some strong recruits this season," said senior Andrew Rosen, who was one of two Jumbos to win in singles, triumphing in the No. 5 slot 6-2, 6-1. "It was a tough match, but overall we fought very hard and played well."
Sophomore Kai Victoria also won his singles match in three competitive sets, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. In No. 6 singles, senior Bryan Wilner battled through three sets, eventually falling to freshman Matthew Skalak 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Tufts first-year Andrew Lutz had a notable performance against MIT sophomore Samuel Harmatz in the fourth singles position, even though he ultimately lost 6-4, 7-6.
Though Tufts dropped four out of six singles contests, the highlight of the match for the Jumbos was their performance in doubles, an area in which the team has been working particularly hard to improve this season. Against MIT, Tufts took two out of the three doubles tilts.
Victoria and junior Jake Fountain kicked off the doubles success, defeating Kevin and Larry Pang in a tiebreaker 9-8. The third doubles team, consisting of sophomore Sam Laber and freshman Ben Barad, also secured a win for the Jumbos, rolling to an 8-3 victory over the Engineers' duo of Andrew Cooper and Brian Oldfield. Tufts nearly swept the doubles matches, as Lutz and sophomore Morrie Bossen fought hard in another tie-breaker, eventually falling to Skalak and freshman Tymor Hamamsy 9-8.
"Last year, we lost all three doubles matches to MIT, so this was a definitely an improvement in that regard," Rosen said.
The strong showing of the Jumbos' doubles pairs was particularly exciting for Tufts, which will soon head into the winter offseason and begin preparing for its spring campaign. "Historically, doubles have been a weaker point for the team, so now we're looking forward to having confidence in that aspect and combining it with our historically strong singles performances," junior Paul Kohnstamm said. "It was a hard loss, but now we have a lot to look forward to."
Overall, the fall has been a promising beginning to the season, with veterans returning strong and freshmen demonstrating great talent and potential in the abbreviated schedule. Though both Kohnstamm and senior Dan Landers have been injured and junior Tony Carucci is abroad, the team has laid a steady foundation from which to move forward. With players returning in the spring and the rest of the team coming back fresh from training, the Jumbos look to continue improving on last season's performance.
"We're excited to put it all together in the spring and add to what the guys playing this fall have been doing," Kohnstamm said.
Before the team moves indoors for winter training, though, it will face Babson on the road this Friday in a make-up match that was previously postponed.
In the past, Babson has proved a less formidable foe than MIT and the other NESCAC competition the team faces. Tufts rolled to a 9-0 win over the Beavers last fall. Should this weekend end with a similar result, the Jumbos would ensure at least a .500 record for the fall. Tufts wraps up its 2009 campaign on Oct. 16 at Harvard.
"We're looking forward to going right out there and getting a ‘W' heading into the offseason," Kohnstamm said.
