Seasoned seniors and talented juniors in the top spots, and a new coach with an invigorating system, give the men's tennis team considerable promise for their upcoming spring season despite the loss of several starters and a daunting early schedule.
The Jumbos come into the season ranked 27th in the nation after a perfect 3−0 finish to their abbreviated fall campaign. Since that time, practices have moved indoors, where the team has worked on more technical parts of their games, welcoming coaches and specialists to help with strategy and point management.
"We've been focusing a lot on doubles," sophomore Austin Blau said. "We're making sure that we're not making errors too early in the point."
Blau is one of several younger players being asked to fill the void left from offseason attrition, as the Jumbos graduated two of their best doubles players and had other starters leave the team, including sophomore Pat Monaghan and senior Kai Victoria.
That leaves them with a sophomore− and junior−heavy roster led by juniors Andrew Lutz and Ben Barad, who will hold down the top two singles spots. Still, the team is anchored by its co−captains, Sam Laber and MorrieBossen — the squad's only seniors — who are determined to finish their Tufts careers on a high note.
"I've been playing tennis since I was 10, so I want to make it a really fun and successful last year," Bossen said. "It's our last competitive go around."
So far, Bossen and Laber have thrived in their leadership roles.
"The leadership from Sam and Morrie has been outstanding," coach Jaime Kenney said. "They've been not just leaders on the court but leaders off the court."
Last spring, the Jumbos qualified for the NESCAC tournament as the No. 5 seed but were eliminated in the first round by fourth−seededBowdoin. They were ranked as high as 23rd in the nation.
To make this year successful, the Jumbos have set a number of important team goals, including making NESCACs, making team nationals and having a nationally ranked individual at season's end.
"I'm hoping that we follow through on the goals that we all agreed upon," said Bossen, who added that they also particularly want to beat their closest competition, including teams like Bates, Trinity, Colby and Bowdoin. "Those are our four matches that we're probably going to want to win the most," he said.
These goals have been emphasized by Kenney, the first−year coach who, according to Blau, has brought a disciplined style of practice and is expecting big things out of the squad.
"The emphasis is on us being a team," Kenney said. "The emphasis is on looking down the courts and knowing that every person on this team is working just as hard and is just as important to the success of this team."
Their first chance to put that philosophy to the test will come on March 16, when the Jumbos take on national No. 7 Middlebury on the road.
"Playing Middlebury first is a great gauge for these guys to figure out what we have to do for the rest of the season," Kenney said. "It's a great opportunity for us to figure out what we need to work on."
Laber added that the match will help them solidify their doubles pairings, which have not yet been set for the opener.
After that, the Jumbos will spend spring break in Hilton Head, S.C. taking on some of the best squads in the nation, including No. 22 University of Chicago.
"Depending on how we do, that could be an important win come [NCAA] tournament time to see who gets in," said Bossen, referring to the match against Chicago.
Even early in the season, the Jumbos are already thinking big picture, aware of how slip−ups in their challenging opening slate could impact seedings down the road.
But from the opener next Friday to the end of the grueling campaign, Kenney wants her team locked in on the present and on team dynamics.
"The focus has been on the 12 people that are really working hard to help this program move forward and achieve our goals," Kenney said. "We get better, as a team, every single day. I like our chances against anyone."
