Jumbos start season strongly on spring break trip to California

The men’s tennis team enjoyed more than just the good weather on its spring break trip to California. With three wins and an impressive performance in its loss to Pomona-­Pitzer, Tufts succeeded in establishing a winning start to the busy spring season.

Before heading back home to Massachusetts, the team capped off the successful week with a win at No. 24 California Lutheran. While the first three singles matches went to the home team, the Jumbos' doubles teams pulled through with a sweep to earn the 6­-3 win. Junior Nik Telkedzhiev, ranked 38th in the country, as well as junior Rob Jacobson and first-­year Griffin Brockman, won one set each, but lost in the first, second and third singles slots, respectively. The next three singles matches, however, all went to the Jumbos, and with a sweep in the three doubles matches, the team was able to head home with its third win.

The match at California Lutheran followed a dominant display against non-­ranked College of the Desert.In the first two singles slots, sophomore Benjamin Battle and Jacobson needed three sets to beat their opponents. All four of the other singles matches lasted for only two sets, as Tufts swept the singles contests. The only win for College of the Desert came in the third doubles slot with a very close tiebreaker. The Jumbos' final score of 8-­1 reflected a performance that was more than sufficient.

Tufts kicked off its matches in the Golden State against No. 28 Denison University. The season opener saw spring debuts from first-­years Rohan Gupte and Brockman, both hoping to solidify places in the team going forward. In the sixth singles slot, Gupte overcame a loss in the second set to win the third set and earn the victory. He then joined junior co-­captain Rob Jacobson to win in the third doubles position. Jacobson also dropped one set on the way to victory in his singles match in the third position. Brockman fell in the fifth slot, but the result proved insignificant as Tufts won in every other position to earn its first win of the season. The Jumbos swept the first, second and fourth singles matches as Telkedzhiev, Battle and junior Nick Cary all proved too much for their opponents. The team was bolstered by wins in all three doubles slots.

Gupte impressed on his first trip to California with the team, earning three singles and three doubles wins and losing only once. For the first-­years on the team, the introduction to college spring tennis means a level of skill and intensity higher than anything they have previously experienced. Gupte explained that college tennis also places much greater emphasis on team success, which helps the first-­years cope with the increase in intensity.

Senior co-captain Brian Tan agreed that the greater level of intensity poses the biggest challenge for the first­-years, but praised how well Tufts' rookies have handled it.

“The [first-years] have been especially impressive -- just being on a team for the first time, being in a college tennis environment and being under pressure -- all of them have done a really good job,” Tan said.

As for his successful start to the season, Gupte feels he is satisfied with his performance, but emphasized how well the team as a whole has started.

“Everyone’s playing well, everyone’s working hard," he said. "I think it’s been a really good season overall.”

Tufts' only loss of the season so far came against No. 9 Pomona-­Pitzer. A formidable force in Div. III tennis, Pomona was sure to pose the team’s biggest challenge of the week. Tufts did not go down easily, however, as Pomona-­Pitzer only squeezed out a one-match advantage to win 5-­4. The biggest highlight for the team was its doubles play, as Tufts beat Pomona-­Pitzer in two of the three doubles matches. Tufts won two and lost four of the singles matches in a battle that saw two of Tufts’ losses end in three sets.

Tan says that the team was satisfied with its performance against Pomona-Pitzer despite the loss.

“[It was] one of the closer matches that I’ve had in four years here,” he said.

He also explained how the team’s emphasis on doubles was imperative to its success in California.

“We’ve wanted to have better doubles than our opponents and, for the most part, we did a good job of that,” he said.

The results certainly back this up, as the Jumbos notched 11 doubles wins and just one loss over the span of those four games.

After a 10­-day break following its last match in California, No. 26 Tufts will launch into a busy April schedule with a match against Brandeis on the first day of the month. Coach Karl Gregor will demand more hard work from the team in preparation for the period of seemingly non-­stop matches.

Looking forward, Tan sees a top 20 -- or maybe even top 15 -- national ranking as a feasible goal for the team. Gupte had a similarly optimistic opinion.

“Everyone’s on the same page and we started really well ... it’ll be a good season to look forward to,” he said.