The men's tennis team took on two conference rivals this past week at home, facing off against Conn. College on Thursday and Bowdoin on Saturday.
Despite easily dispatching the Camels 8-1 earlier in the week, the No. 28-ranked Jumbos were unable to upset the No. 12-ranked Polar Bears over the weekend, losing 7-2.
Tufts was able to keep its head above water in the doubles matches, and was down only 2-1 heading into singles play. Sophomore Rob Jacobson and freshman Brad Wong scored the lone victory at the No. 2 doubles position, ousting the sophomore duo of Luke Trinka and Chase Savage 8-6. Junior co-captain Brian Tan and senior Matt Pataro at No. 1 doubles, and senior Austin Blau and sophomore Nick Cary at No. 3 doubles were unable to muster as much opposition to their Bowdoin counterparts, falling 8-3 and 8-2, respectively.
The Polar Bears put the Jumbos away decisively in singles, dropping only three sets and going 5-1 in singles play. However, Jacobson was once again a bright spot for Tufts in No. 1 singles, taking down Bowdoin senior Noah Bragg in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
"Bowdoin came out stronger than us in the doubles, and that set the momentum in the match," Tan said. "[Rob] Jacobson played great while winning both of his matches, but, other than that, we had a tough time gaining momentum."
The only other Jumbo to win a set in singles was senior Zach Ladwig at No. 5 singles, who took the first set of his match 6-2. However, Bowdoin senior Kyle Wostencroft overcame the early deficit to win two nail-biter sets, 7-5, 10-6. After Ladwig, the only Jumbo to win more than three games in a set was Cary at No. 6 singles, who lost his match 6-2, 6-4.
"We came into the match with a confident mindset," sophomore Jay Glickman said. "After hanging in there, but coming up a little short against Williams [on April 5], we realized that every team in Div. III is within our reach. Although things didn't ultimately go our way [against Bowdoin], every [player] competed well and put [his] hard work on display."
Only a few days earlier, though, Tufts was on the winning end when it took down Conn. College 8-1 on Thursday. Tufts took a 2-1 lead in doubles play. This time, however, the Jacobson and Wong duo was the only doubles team to lose on Thursday, falling in an incredibly close match 9-8 (5-7).
This time, the Jumbos did an excellent job closing out their victory over the Camels, losing only one set en route to a 6-0 performance in singles.
"We had a decisive win against [Conn. College] last year, but coming into the match, we knew that we needed to stay grounded," Glickman said. "We never take our opponents lightly because everybody is good at this stage. Level-headedness was key, and we performed well, top to bottom."
Again, Ladwig and Cary played especially well in the No. 5 and No. 6 positions, respectively. Ladwig beat his opponent 6-2, 6-4, while Cary dominated in his match, winning 6-1, 6-2.
"Even though we won 8-1, Conn. College was solid throughout its lineup," Tan said. "It was a good win that built up our confidence."
After splitting the two matches, the Jumbos are now 3-4 in the NESCAC, with three conference games left to play. They will look to get their record back to .500 when they take on the Bates Bobcats today at 3:30 p.m.
