A powerful blend of strong returning players and talented new recruits turned out to be the proper formula for the men's tennis team, which opened its season on Saturday when it crushed Salve Regina, 9-0.
Saturday's away match was a welcome victory for the team after last spring ended on a low note, with the Jumbos dropping their last two games and falling out of the national rankings. With nine victories in total and three against NESCAC competition, the players looked to improve their record this fall.
If the match against Salve Regina was any indication, the Jumbos are off to a good start.
Not only was the final score a clear-cut sweep, but the scores of each individual match proved the strength of each of Tufts' competitors. The six singles players did not drop a single set, while the doubles players lost just six games in their three matches.
"The results definitely exceeded our expectations," sophomore Kai Victoria said. "We just dominated Salve Regina all over."
"[Salve Regina] was a much weaker team even from years past," senior Dan Landers added. "I think the scores all reflect the quality of our team and reflect also that our mentality going in was the correct one. We knew the strength of our team and the strength of their team, and that we could put players together who hadn't played before and gain some experience."
The returning Jumbos set high expectations for the rest of the Tufts team, with impressive performances in the first three singles sets. In his debut at the top of the Tufts ladder, sophomore Sam Laber opened the match with a two-set victory over Seahawks senior Steve Masso, 6-1, 7-6 (3).
Laber's second set was one of the few of the afternoon with a close score. Junior Jake Fountain followed Laber with a sweeping win at 6-1, 6-2 and Victoria built on the team's success with a straight-set victory, 6-2, 6-0 against Seahawks freshman Chad Strong.
Taking cues from their experienced teammates, a trio of freshmen played equally well for the Jumbos. In his first collegiate match, Andrew Lutz did not drop a game, finishing with a 6-0, 6-0 win. Classmates Ben Barad and Marc Westerfield followed with two more victories at 6-1, 6-2 and 6-0, 6-0 respectively.
The Jumbos also dominated in the doubles matches. Fountain and Victoria combined for an 8-2 victory, while Lutz and Barad followed suit with an 8-3 win. Laber and sophomore Morrie Bossen slammed the overall matchup with an 8-1 victory at No. 3 doubles.
"Over the fall we mix up our teams to try to find what works," Landers said. "Even if you win that doesn't mean the team works. At the end of the day it isn't about two strongest teams, it is about having three balanced teams in the spring."
If anything, Saturday's match displayed the great skill and potential of this year's freshman class.
"I'm very proud of the way the freshmen came out with such confidence for their first college match," Victoria said.
"Both of [the freshman] have solid doubles fundamentals," Landers added. "Andrew played in tournaments over the summer and Ben is made to be a good singles and doubles player with strong serves and good volleys. So them playing a team like Salve was probably just practice."
This weekend, the Jumbos will face their first NESCAC competition in the ITA Regional Tournament at Williams College, which should be a true test of the team's depth and ability.
No Jumbo has advanced to the last day of the tournament in eight years, and the team is hoping to break that streak. Having just one person compete in either singles or doubles on the last day would be a proud accomplishment, according to the Tufts players
The afterglow of Tufts' victory over Salve Regina should linger for some time, but the Jumbos are not out of the woods yet. Despite the team's early victory, it has plenty of work to do before it can boast the same success as last season.
"We always need to improve on something," Victoria said. "Our top six singles players are all basically at the same level, yet we need someone to step up to a more superior level to compete with the very elite players we'll face on some of the other teams." Ethan Landy contributed reporting to this article.
