Men's Tennis | Jumbos clip Violets 7-2 but fall to NESCAC foe Williams over weekend
April 13For the third weekend in a row, the nationally ranked No. 30 men's tennis team saw mixed results, recording both a win over non-conference foe Vassar and a loss to NESCAC rival Williams. This time, however, the Jumbo squad walked tall in Saturday's match at home against the nationally ranked No. 5 Ephs, a team that has closed the year among the top 10 since the 2000 season. Tufts fell 7-2, but the result was an improvement, as the Ephs have traditionally taken these matches by larger margins of victory. This year, close matches in doubles and singles as well as momentum built off Friday's nixing of Vassar all contributed to the Jumbos' competitiveness. "Overall, I'm not disappointed with our match against Williams," junior tri-captain Dan Landers said. "Last year, we lost to them 9-0, and they're always a very good team, and this year we were close to beating them in some of the matches that we lost, so the match could've been somewhat closer." From the onset, the No. 1 doubles team of freshman Kai Victoria and sophomore Jake Fountain set the tone for the match, putting up a staunch fight against its Williams opponents. After breaking the Ephs to force a tiebreaker at 8-8, the Jumbo duo found itself trailing 5-2 in the tiebreak. Victoria and Fountain then found an opening to regain their footing with defensive maneuvering and won the next five points to take the tiebreaker and the match 9-8 (5). "Jake and Kai played a great match," junior Andrew Rosen said. "At around 6-5 or 7-6, [Fountain and Victoria] broke back and it went to a tie-breaker. We were down 5-2 in the tie-breaker and in a huge win we came back to win 7-5 … It was a tremendous match and really showed [Fountain's and Victoria's] mental toughness and their ability to make some clutch shots." In singles, the Jumbos were on their game despite a score that may suggest otherwise. Junior tri-captain Bryan Wilner pulled off Tufts' only singles victory at the No. 6 position. With a combination of strong serves and commanding forehand shots, Wilner controlled the tempo of the match, silencing his opponent in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. While some players found success on the court, many others had some hit-and-miss opportunities. Freshman Sam Laber played in the No. 5 position and managed a competitive first set marked by long volleys and battles for points but was unable to secure the win. Due to an injury incurred by junior tri-captain Jon Trott, the lineup shifted, moving Rosen to the No. 2 position. Rosen nabbed the first set from the old foe from his hometown of Armonk, N.Y., but fell in the next two to drop the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. "[Rosen] and his opponent were from the same town, so they knew each other's games pretty well going into the match," Landers said. "That can be a bad thing, especially for a player like [Rosen], who really thrives against players that are unfamiliar with his game. [Rosen] really battled it out and took his opponent to three sets … It showed the whole team how determined he is on the court." In Friday's match against the 9-7 Vassar Violets, Tufts took a steady hand against its non-conference opponent. While the Violets are unranked nationally, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association has ranked Vassar No. 11 in the Northeast, just one spot below Tufts. After posting a close 5-4 win last season against the Violets, the Jumbos had a markedly stronger performance this year. In doubles play, Tufts took two out of three matches, with Trott and freshman Morrie Bossen handing their opponents an 8-4 loss in the No. 3 position. The duo capitalized on serve opportunities and made key cross-court returns that built momentum going into the singles game. With Victoria out due to illness, Laber stepped up to take his spot in No. 2 doubles. Making a flawless transition, the Laber-Fountain team made few errors and played a low game to outperform their Violets rivals 8-6. "This year's match was much different than last year's," Rosen said. "[Victoria] was sick and couldn't compete in the match, so initially that made things difficult, but [Laber] and [Fountain] played really well at No. 2 doubles and [Bossen's] and [Trott's] win at No. 3 doubles gave us a lot of confidence going into singles." In singles, all matches were decided in straight sets, five of which went the Jumbos' way. At the No. 3 position, Rosen overcame his opponent in a tiebreaker in the first set before finishing him off in the second for a 7-6(3), 6-2 win. At No. 6 singles, Laber pulled out a victory in commanding style and gave up just two games over the two sets. The Violets' only singles win came at No. 4 singles, as sophomore Tony Carucci held a solid 5-1 lead in the first set tie-break but unraveled to fall 7-6(3) and lost the match with a second set score of 6-4. "Last year, we beat Vassar 5-4 and I ended up playing the same opponent I did this year, winning 6-4 in the third set," Rosen said. "It was about as competitive as you could be. This year, though, we played much more consistent as a team and we didn't let injuries set us back from our goals." On Friday, Tufts will take on the Colby Mules in Waterville, Maine. The Jumbos have been unable to secure victory against the Mules since the 2004-05 season, but they have had close run-ins with their NESCAC foe in the past, falling 5-4 last year. With only two NESCAC matches left this season, the Tufts squad hopes to meet its goal of taming the nationally unranked Mules before facing off against the nationally ranked No. 6 Middlebury Panthers. "The Colby match is one we cannot lose," Landers said. "I think we all feel the same way that we do not want to lose against them. One of our goals this season was to beat Bates and beat Colby, which would've gotten us into the NESCACs. We already saw what happened against Bates and, going forward, we just want to do what we haven't been able to do in the last couple years, which is to just beat Colby. It's a very doable thing, we just haven't been able to pull it out."
