Sorkin wins 2nd straight ITA New England Singles Championship

Second-seeded junior co-captain Boris Sorkin won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) New England Singles Championship for the second straight year Sunday, defeating No. 9–16 seed sophomore Stan Morris of Middlebury in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3. Earlier that day in the semifinals, Sorkin came back from a set down against sophomore Noah Lilienthal from Wesleyan in the semifinals, losing 6–2, then winning 7–5, 6–1.

After winning the regional title, Sorkin will have the opportunity to defend his national title at the ITA Cup Div. III Singles Championship that he won last year as a sophomore. The ITA Cup is viewed as the most prestigious event of the fall preseason, with regional champions from across the country all competing.It will be held in Rome, Ga. at Berry College from Oct. 17–20. 

A solid serve, clean groundstrokes and quick footwork are common among many of the top players in the NESCAC, yet sophomore Isaac Gorelik revealed what puts Sorkin in a class of his own.

"He's just a mental warrior," Gorelik said. "He's got this aura on the court and he's so rock solid with whatever goes on in his head. Him winning really lifts the whole team."

Sorkin’s success also hit its groove on the doubles court as well, along with first-year teammate Josh Belandres. The Tufts duo fought hard in the doubles final to wrest the first set away from No. 1 Williams team of senior Alex Taylor and sophomore Peter Frelinghuysen, yet lost a tight three-set battle, 5–7, 6–4, 6–3.

Several other Jumbos also made deep runs at the tournament. Gorelik (who played at the No. 3 singles slot most of last year) rallied hard from a set down in the round of 16 against sophomore Oscar Yang from Bowdoin,3–6, 6–3, 6–0. Unfortunately, Gorelik lost an incredibly close quarterfinal match against Wesleyan's junior Zach Fleischman,3–6, 7–6 (4), 7–6 (4).

Gorelik later reflected back on his performance over the ITAs.

"I had three really close matches," Gorelik said. "In my first round match against Turchetta, he started playing a lot better, but I had to buckle down and grind. I was down 3–1 in the second set and won like 11 games in a row. I just fought and the momentum later kind of carried through. [Against Zach in the quarterfinals] it started raining in the middle and [the match] went indoors. He played unbelievably well, [I] give that guy a lot of credit. It's only the second time in life where I've been 7–6 in the third. I obviously wish I could’ve won, and I felt like I played better for almost the whole match, but he stepped up and played really big shots in the big moments."

Other notable runs included sophomore Paris Pentousis and the doubles duo of senior co-captainEthan Bershtein and junior Niko Hereford, who both fell in the Round of 16 on Saturday.

No. 9–16 seeded first-year Rishahb Sharda breezed past Gordon College senior Jonathan Frink, 6–0, 6–1 but lost in the second round to Middlebury first-year Aidan Harris, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4.

The weekend prior, on Sept. 14–15, the Jumbos took home four titles at the Middlebury Invitational. Gorelik downed Morris,6–1, 3–6, 10–6, in the A Singles Flight Final.In the B Singles Flight Final, No. 2-seeded Sharda defeated No. 4-seededMiddlebury first-year Robby Ward,6–1, 4–6, 10–6. In doubles, Sorkin and Belandres won the A Doubles Flight, 8–7 (4), while junior Owen Bartok and senior Ben Biswas beat Gorelik and sophomore Jack Moldenhauer, 8–5, in an all-Jumbo final in the B Doubles Flight. 

While the Jumbos are proud of a strong performance over the course of the fall preseason, Gorelik stressed the importance of continuing to work hard and not getting ahead of themselves.

"We’re pumped, but we're getting back to work," Gorelik said. "This is just the first step. Some of the other teams were particularly tough like Wesleyan and we have a lot of time before our first dual match [of the spring season] in March. Our goal is that we want to be confident that we can beat any team in the country on any given day."

The Jumbos will compete next at the Bates Invitational next weekend. Then, they will head to the Boston Invitational at Massachusetts Institute of Technology the following week for their final tournament of the fall preseason.