The No. 18 Tufts Jumbos opened their long-awaited return to competition with a 6–3 win over the No. 37 Colby Mules. Colby suffered their first loss of the season and fell to 2–1 (1–1 NESCAC).
Senior co-captain Boris Sorkin and sophomore Josh Belandres, the No. 7 doubles team in the country, tallied the first win for the Jumbos by defeating Jan Wenger and Joey Barrett at No. 1 doubles, 8–5. Then, Tufts’ duo of junior Paris Pentousis and junior Niko Hereford downed Colby's Sumukh Pathi and Ben Powis 8–4 to widen the lead at No. 2 doubles. In the final match of doubles play, senior Owen Bartok and first-year Mauricio Gutierrez fell to Colby's Max Schuermann and Sam Henry, 8–6.
With the 2020 season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hereford was eager to get back on the court.
"It felt good," Hereford said. "Paris and I played a couple of matches together. I think our games complement each other well, trying to play short points. The biggest takeaway was it was the first match we played in two years so there was obviously some nerves, but I think if we both stick to our game styles we can beat a lot of good teams."
With a 2–1 lead to open singles play, Sorkin, the No. 2 player in the country, rallied for his second win of the day at No. 1 singles after dropping the second set over Colby's Jan Wenger, 6–0, 4–6, 10–5. Pentousis registered a relatively straightforward 6–3, 6–4 victory over Colby's Schuermann. Bartok clinched the win for the Jumbos after coming back from a set down over Colby's Garrett Reiter, 4–6, 6–2, 10–2.
Bartok later noted the keys to staying mentally focused in order to clinch the match.
"From the mental side of things, making sure you’re not getting too high or low, staying steady and not hitting the panic button,” he said. “From the tennis side of things, I try to keep them as simple as possible and in terms of strategy not make things too complicated for myself."
Still, Colby fought hard to win two of the three remaining singles matches. First-year Corey Marley was defeated by Colby's Ben Powis, 6–2, 6–3, and first-year Rishabh Sharda fell in a remarkably close three set marathon to Colby's Pathi, 6–4, 4–6, 14–12. In the final match of the day, junior Isaac Gorelik broke past Colby's Barrett in two tight sets, 7–5, 7–5.
The Tufts tennis team has had to deal with a lot of changes this year. The Vouté Courts, which previously served as the Jumbo's home venue, are covered with temporary quarantine housing units for students who test positive for COVID-19. As a result, the team now plays on the courts behind Harleston Hall.
Still, the Jumbos are looking forward to challenging the top teams in the country.
"We definitely feel like this is the most talent we’ve had in a while," Bartok said. "We have really high expectations for ourselves for the NESCACs and nationally as well. But, this past weekend was a reminder that there’s a lot of good teams out there. Week in and week out we need to keep practicing hard and make sure we aren’t overlooking anyone because of those high expectations."
The Jumbos will face off against Connecticut College on April 18.
