Tufts falls to reigning national champions 7-2

The men’s tennis team lost on Saturday to No. 5 Amherst 7-2, falling to 3-3 on the season and 0-1 in the NESCAC. Both of Tufts’ points came from first-years, as the doubles team of Zain Ali and Griffin Brockman claimed victory over Amherst seniors Jon Cypers and Andrew Scheiner. Ali was also able to secure a victory in singles over sophomore Andrew Arnaboldi.

The No. 23 Jumbos went into the match knowing that they would be the underdog to the 2014 national champions, but almost came out of doubles with a lead, which could have perhaps tilted momentum in their favor. For one of their losses in doubles action, the Jumbos came within one point of claiming a victory and taking a 2-1 lead.

“It literally came down to us not capitalizing on a few points,” junior Nick Cary said. “Coaches can say that as much as they want to players, but we realized that there is a lot of truth behind that. Having there be a reemphasis on the fact that every point matters and that we should capitalize on major points has been hammered home, and that’s something we can take with us for sure.”

A highlight of the match was again the play of Tufts’ first-years, even without key contributor Rohan Gupte, who was sidelined with an injury but should be ready for the next match. Tufts’ first-years were one of the main reasons the team was so excited and optimistic at the beginning of the season.

“We played some good tennis,” junior co-captain Rob Jacobson said. “Zain Ali, one of our freshmen, really played well in a very high-pressure doubles match to put us on the board early on, and he played a great singles match as well. That was really positive for us, having a bunch of younger players coming through against a national title contender."

Interim head coach Karl Gregor also found his own positives from the match.

“I was a little down after and really thought we had it in us to make it a closer and better match,” Gregor said. “But the very next day, Amherst played Washington University, which is ranked third in the country, and they beat them by the same score, 7-2. So in retrospect, I look back and realized that we played a really good team.”

The Jumbos will next travel to No. 22 Trinity College to play another important NESCAC match. Cary played for the Bantums his first year before transferring to Tufts as a sophomore.

“I think it’s a good and even match-up,” Cary said. “Where they have experience, we have a bunch of freshman talent. Both of our styles of play are also very similar. We both have talent and both teams try and emphasize a certain level of fight and grit in their style of play. Both teams realize that talent and skill can only get you so far and emphasize the things that are not necessarily dictated by how good you are.”

“Our preparation for every match is always the same,” Jacobson added. “The minute one match ends, in our minds, the next match begins. So our preparation for each match is interpreted as part of the match. Everyone is just working as hard as we can, and we take every match with the same importance. Obviously, Trinity is a very big match for us as a big NESCAC rival, and we will treat them no differently as we played the defending national champions, and hopefully we will come through.”

In order for the Jumbos to advance to the NESCAC tournament they will have to win a number of these upcoming matches, beginning with Trinity and ending with Bowdoin on April 24. Trinity has begun the season 5-2 and is fresh off of two straight victories.

“Trinity is a very seasoned team with a lot of upperclassmen,” Gregor said. “That’s always going to make them a tough team, and over the past couple seasons we’ve traded matches. We’re expecting to see a really tight battle there, and we’re not going to blow them away and they won’t blow us away. It will come down to who is better prepared and who is the grittier team."

The Jumbos will take on the Bantums at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday in Hartford, Conn.