Jumbos cruise comfortably over Conn. College, Colby

The No. 18 Tufts men's tennis team (7–7, 3–4 NESCAC) rallied back for a two-match win streak this weekend after cruising to a comfortable victory over Conn. College at home 9–0 on Saturday and a 8–1 win against Colby on Sunday.

Against Conn. College, Tufts held its own on Senior Day, where the team honored its lone senior, co-captain Ross Kamin.

Starring in both No. 1 doubles and No. 5 singles, Kamin registered two key victories to the team’s 9–0 sweep. Kamin and sophomore Boris Sorkin broke past Conn. College senior Will Cannon and junior Guillermo Garcia, 8–6, to give Tufts a 3–0 advantage out of doubles play.

Kamin later reflected on the incredible support from the whole team on Senior Day.

“All the guys were cheering on every point,” Kamin said. “It was really fun. I don’t think I had ever played with Boris before [then].”

First-years Paris Pentousis and Dylan Glickman also won at No. 3 doubles (8–5), while juniors Zach Shaff and Jason Scanlon downed their opponents at No. 2 doubles, 8–6.

Tufts built on its momentum by winning all six singles matches. Kamin booked a 6–1, 6–2 straight-sets victory over Will Cannon.

Kamin later revealed the importance of consistency.

“I was willing to make more balls than my opponent,” Kamin said. “I was really trying to get the win, and he gave me a decent amount of unforced errors.”

Another highlight included first-year Akash Verma’s debut in the singles lineup for the Jumbos this spring. Verma served up a double bagel for the victory against Walter Komishane, 6–0, 6–0.

On Sunday, Tufts faced more resistance against Colby but was ultimately able to book a confident 8–1 victory.

At No. 3 doubles, junior co-captain Ethan Bershtein and sophomore Niko Herford earned the first points on the scoreboard with a close 8–5 win. The duo of Shaff and Scanlon stretched the lead to 2–0 by emerging victorious at No. 2 doubles, 8–6.

The Colby Mules stole what would be their first and only point against the Tufts Jumbos as sophomores Sorkin and Carl-Herman Grant fell in a tight tiebreaker, 8–7 (8–6).

Still, Sorkin and Grant later both got their revenge in singles competition. Sorkin rallied past Colby junior Scott Altmeyer in two tight sets (7–5, 6–4) while Grant downed sophomore Garret Reiter, 6–3, 6–3. Other highlights included Jumbo first-year Isaac Gorelik’s 6–4, 7–6 (5) win over Max Shuerman. The Weston, Mass., native has been rock solid at the No. 3 singles position, winning six of his seven matches this spring.

As the regular season comes to a close, the Jumbos are back in action at home on Wednesday in a crucial matchup against NESCAC rival Bates. The final spot for the postseason NESCAC tournament will likely be at stake, and Tufts has missed out on competing in the NESCAC tournament over the past two years.

Around this time last year, Tufts suffered a wrenching 7–2 loss on the road to Bates on its rival’s fast indoor courts in the Wallach Tennis Center. This year, however, Tufts will be the higher-ranked and favored team heading into the match.

Kamin expressed the importance of treating the match against Bates like every other contest.

“We don’t want to underestimate them,” Kamin said. “We’re going to prepare the same way we prepare for any other match. The past couple years we’ve been fighting with them, but we’re pretty confident. Everyone’s looking forward to it, and there’s especially a lot of motivation for players that were on the team last year for this [match].”

The Jumbos look forward to hitting the court at 3 p.m. on Wednesday for their crucial tilt against the Bates Bobcats at home on the Voute Tennis Courts in front of Fletcher, with the final spot in the NESCAC tournament on the line.