Veterans and rookies show promise with deep runs in Regional Championships

After a strong season opener performance at the Middlebury Invitational Tournament, the men’s tennis team went into this past weekend's USTA/ITA Regional Tournament with a chance to cement its consistent early-season play.

The United States Tennis Association/International Tennis Association Regional Championships, which only enters top players from each team’s roster, was hosted by Middlebury and featured only one singles and one doubles draw.

Junior Nik Telkedzhiev once again went deep into a tournament with his quarterfinals appearance in the Regional Championships. Telkedzhiev, who reached the semifinals of the Middlebury Invitational Tournament, went into this weekend hoping for another strong performance. While expectations were high, he did accomplish what he set out to do. However, his ride to the USTA/ITA Regional Championships quarterfinals was not without its bumps.

After getting through the first round with a routine 6-4, 6-4 win over Brandon Roode from Nichols, Telkedzhiev took on Brian Astrachan, a junior from Williams, in the second round.

Astrachan plays primarily doubles for Williams and gave Telkedzhiev a tough match from the get-go. After going toe-to-toe for most of the first set, Astrachan stole it, 6-7(6). From then on, Telkedzhiev was able to hold a grasp on the match, taking the next 12 of 15 games to take the match 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-1.

Telkedzhiev's journey to the quarterfinals was not going to get any easier, as the tournament’s first seed, Carl Reid, a sophomore from Colby, loomed as Telkedzhiev’s next opponent.

Reid put as much pressure on Telkedzhiev as Astrachan did in the second round, but the Jumbo seemed to be prepared and was able to stay ahead in the first set. While Astrachan ran away with the first set tiebreak, the first seed was not as lucky and was on the losing side of the affair. With the first set under his belt, Telkedzhiev once again steamrolled through the second to win the match, 7-6(6), 6-1.

In the quarterfinals, Telkedzhiev met junior Jackson Frons from Middlebury. In this match, Telkedzhiev reached yet another first set tiebreak. Once again, Telkedzhiev was able to wrap up the first set in a tiebreak, but in the second and third sets, the Jumbo was not as lucky. After getting his serve broken a few times, Telkedzhiev lost the second and third set to drop the match 7-6, 3-6, 2-6.

Freshman Zain Ali had been touted to be a future top-collegiate contender in the preseason and after two outings, he has proven his believers right. Ali reached the finals of his singles bracket in the Middlebury invitational and followed it up with a third round showing in his USTA/ITA Regional Championships debut.

After beating Edward Martinez from UMass Boston 6-3, 6-2, the rookie took on Russel Eibinder from powerhouse school Amherst. In this round Ali played consistently to take a second straight-set victory, 6-4, 6-2. In the third round, 6th seed Noah Farrell from Middlebury topped the rookie 6-1, 6-1.

Ali was proud of his performance and looks forward to returning to the tournament next year.

"It is very fulfilling being able to finish in the last 16 of the ITA [tournament]," Ali said. "I think it says a lot about our team and our coaching staff that a freshman from Tufts can go deep in a tournament of that level. I'm just very happy I was able to compete at such a high level and hopefully I can return next year and have a better result for Tufts."

For Ali and the other freshmen, upperclassmen have set an example and it seems to be paying off.

"I definitely think Nik has had a major influence on my game in just the one month that I've known him," Ali said. "I see the focus he has on the court and I try to mimic it. Playing alongside him these past couple of weekends has been both a great learning experience and a load of fun."

Other singles performers included sophomore Brad Wong, junior Rob Jacobson and freshman Griffin Brockman. Jacobson lost in straight sets in his opening match and Brockman and Wong fell in their second round matches, also both in straight sets.

In doubles, the Jumbos were not as productive as they were in singles. Tufts sent two teams to compete and each pair lost in the first round. Telkedzhiev and Ali teamed up, but lost their match 8-5 to Middlebury seniors Chris Frost and Peter Heidrich. The other Tufts pair to compete was Jacobson and Wong, who lost their opener 8-4 to Middlebury freshman Kyle Schlanger and junior Palmer Campbell.

Now that the fall season is fully underway and two of the most important invitationals of the season are in the books, the Jumbos are beginning to realize the team's potential for the spring.

"As the freshmen get more experience, they will only get better and this will have a major impact on the team's results," Jacobson said. "What's great about this season is that we have so many capable players that we have a lot of room to switch our lineup around. Zain and Griffin had great results at ITAs this past weekend, while Danny and Rohan did very well at Middlebury two weeks ago."

With promising underclassmen  players like Wong and Ali, coupled with historically consistent play from veterans like Jacobson and Telkedzhiev and the return of junior Jay Glickman from his fall semester abroad, the Tufts men's tennis team is hopeful that their spring campaign will be favorable.

"Only time will tell which freshman will emerge from the pack and solidify a starting position, but it's very fun and exciting to see them fit in with the team so well already," Jacobson said. "With Jay back in the mix for the spring, I like our chances to do very well this year."

The Jumbos next compete in mid-October at the Wallach invitational hosted by Bates.