After opening league play in the NESCAC by splitting two matches last weekend, the men's tennis team traveled to MIT on Wednesday, looking to avenge a one-game defeat from last season. But after taking two of the three doubles matches, the Jumbos faltered in the singles pairings, falling to MIT 5-4 for the second consecutive year.
"It was definitely disappointing," junior co-captain Morrie Bossen said. "This was one of the matches we had targeted once the schedule was made. They have improved since last year, so, in a sense, it was good to see that we have improved — with the same final score as last season. That doesn't change the fact that we came up on the short end in a close match."
The Jumbos began the afternoon with No. 1 doubles pairing sophomore Andrew Lutz and junior Kai Victoria winning their match 9-8. No. 2 doubles partners Bossen and sophomore Mark Westerfield then fell 8-6 to sophomore Larry Pang and freshman Curtis Wu of MIT.
"They weren't quite as strong in doubles," Lutz said. "We knew we could get up there and then try to hold out in singles to win."
But Tufts rallied, taking No. 3 doubles in dramatic fashion through a strong performance from senior co-captain Paul Kohnstamm and junior Sam Laber, as the pairing won seven of the last eight games of the match en route to an 8-5 victory.
"Mark and I lost a tight match," Bossen added. "But Paul and Sam's comeback was incredible. I thought that was the boost we needed going into the singles matches to carry us to victory."
Holding a slim 2-1 advantage after doubles play, Tufts then lost the next two singles matches. Freshman Edwin Zhang of MIT defeated Victoria 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 1 singles position and senior Ken Van Tilburg defeated Lutz 7-5, 6-1 in the second pairing. But in the No. 3 match, Tufts sophomore Ben Barad came from behind to overcome Pang 2-6, 7-6, 6-4, giving the Jumbos hope of pulling off an upset.
But MIT showed its grit and secured the team win with victories in the No. 4 and No. 5 singles matches, with freshman Patrick Monaghan and senior Tony Carucci going down to the Engineers 6-2, 7-6, and 6-4, 6-1, respectively.
The Jumbos ended the day on somewhat of a positive note with No. 6 freshman Austin Blau easily dispatching his opponent 6-0, 6-1, but it was too little, too late for the Tufts team.
"We didn't convert in a few of the singles matches that we needed," Lutz said. "Ben played so resiliently and had a great comeback win, but overall it was a little disappointing."
Tufts will try to forget about the bitter loss as it travels to face Colby on Friday. The Jumbos have enjoyed success in the past against the Mules, defeating them 7-2 last year and 5-4 two years ago.
"Colby is a league match, and any league match is important for us," Bossen said. "Colby always plays us close, and we've sort of formed a rivalry with them."
After the Colby match, the Jumbos return home to host nationally ranked No. 4 Amherst College on Sunday.
"It's always exciting going up against the best," Lutz said. "Each of us individually have had our shining moments, we know we're capable of beating them. Again, it'll take some good doubles play — it always takes doubles to beat a top team."
Turbulent weather may be a factor in Sunday's match against the highly ranked Lord Jeffs. With the Sunday forecast predicting steady rain, the match may be forced indoors.
"If it rains Sunday, Gantcher is our home court, which they might not be accustomed to playing on," Lutz said. "It's a very fast surface — every school has a different funky indoor surface. Our confidence level definitely goes up for singles when we play in Gantcher. Either way, it'll be a fun match — a lot of people are predicting that [Amherst] will go to the national championship."
