It isn't common for a team to have two matches scheduled on the same day, at the same time, but that's exactly what happened for the men's tennis team last Saturday. With a large squad, the team divided in half to play one match at Hamilton and another at No. 3 Williams.
Against Hamilton, Tufts won 6-3, bouncing back from early doubles losses to win the first four singles matches. Tufts wasn't as fortunate against Williams, though, as it dropped all three doubles matches before losing four of the six singles matches. Recently, Sophomores Nik Telkedzhiev and Josh Girson left the team for undisclosed reasons, leaving the Jumbos with a smaller roster and fewer player options.
Sophomore Rob Jacobson, who has consistently played in the No. 1 singles spot, was on the team that traveled to Williams. Those that played against Hamilton aren't usually seen in lineups, but the team was optimistic that the new players would step up.
"We had complete faith in the guys we sent to Hamilton that they'd be able to get the job done, and it was awesome to have everyone step up and play some great tennis," Jacobson said.
Despite a smaller roster this past weekend, the Jumbos still have more than 13 players. It's common for players who play singles to also compete in doubles, so having 13 or more players can be considered a large team. The Jumbos make it work, ensuring everyone practices the same way.
"The team is great," Jacobson said. "We are in the heart of our season with some exciting matches ahead. We work together as a team and improve together as a team, and everybody involved has the exact same goals in mind as we practice and compete - to make [the team] better every single day."
This mentality worked for the Jumbos this weekend. Against Hamilton, senior Zach Ladwig was placed at No. 1 singles and was able to break his opponent in each set to win 6-4, 7-5. In the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, freshman Kevin Kelly and sophomore Roy Peleg dominated their opponents, winning 24 games and losing just eight.
The No. 4 through No. 6 matches provided more of a challenge. Freshman Ryan Rosen and sophomore Josh Girson pulled out hard-fought wins at No. 4 and No. 6 singles, but Jake Lazarus wasn't as fortunate with a close 7-6, 2-6, 10-7 loss.
In doubles play, the Jumbos fought hard, but the pair of Rosen and classmate Benjamin Battle was the only one to pull out an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles.
While the team was triumphant against the Continentals, the other half of the team was all the way in Williamstown, Mass., preparing for battle against the reigning national champions.
Williams not only holds the national championship, but also boasts a slew of top-30 players in their lineup: No. 30 Howard Weiss, No. 13. Conrad Harron and No. 16 Jose Raventos all play big roles for the Ephs. No. 25 Telkedzhiev would have been the Jumbos top-ranked player, but was one of the players who left the team.
The Jumbos expected the match against Williams to be a tough one.
"They are all very good and experienced," co-captain junior Brian Tan said. "We came off some good matches and we just wanted to bring momentum."
Williams quickly demonstrated why it is one of the best teams in the country, winning all three doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead. The closest match was at No. 3 doubles where senior Austin Blau and sophomore Nick Carey lost 6-8 to the Ephs. Both Blau and Carey were the only two to win their singles matches as well. At the No. 4 position, Blau came out on top with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 victory in a match that often changed momentum. Doubles partner Carey was victorious at No. 6 singles with a routine 7-5, 6-4 win.
"[Williams] came out stronger in doubles, but in singles everyone played very well," Tan said. "There were a lot of close singles matches in singles, and it wasn't easy not having our full team there, but it was still a good experience. We played good players at a high level."
The Jumbos hope that with the experience they gained from playing a split-squad match, as well as the national champions, in the same weekend, they will be able to perform better against higher ranked teams.
"[Williams] has more experience than us at playing NCAA [matches] and being a top-10 team," Tan said. "They know how to play the big moments and big points better than us right now, but we are slowly getting there."
It's been two years of transition for the Jumbos, with large groups of freshmen joining the team each year. However, the team believes it has been taking steps in the right direction.
"I think playing Williams made us realize that we are able to hang with them, and we still have to work a lot harder but we are close to making that next jump," Tan said. "Hopefully our hard work will pay off and we show some good results."
