The men's tennis team has not been the most successful squad at Tufts in recent history; since conference records began to determine team standings in 2007, the team has failed to register a winning record against its NESCAC opponents, compiling a lackluster aggregate mark of 8-15.
So when the Jumbos kicked off their NESCAC season this past weekend with matches against Middlebury, Brandeis and Bowdoin, they were hoping that they could set the stage for a turnaround year. But in the end, it appears that Tufts' season will likely be more of the same.
In Friday's action, the nationally ranked No. 1 Panthers took care of the Jumbos handily in a 9-0 route. Middlebury got out to a quick lead, winning all three doubles matches by a combined score of 24-11. Only the second doubles match was tightly contested, as the Tufts team of junior tri-captain Paul Kohnstamm and senior tri-captain Daniel Landers refused to give in to the Panthers, matching their power and volleying skill for much of the match. But ultimately, the Jumbos could not outlast their opponents, falling 8-6.
"All of our matches this past weekend were tough, and we knew that Middlebury and Bowdoin were going to be extremely difficult," freshman Mark Westerfield said. "We thought that we would have a good chance against Brandeis, but they were extremely good as well."
In singles, the Jumbos did not fare any better. Westerfield, competing in the No. 5 spot, played a grueling match against Middlebury freshman Spencer Lunghino, with the first set lasting about 80 minutes. Despite a valiant effort, Westerfield fell 6-4, 6-2 to his fellow first-year. The closest contest of the day was the No. 4 singles match, in which freshman Andrew Lutz adopted a serve-and-volley approach to dominate the first set 6-1. But Lutz's opponent, senior Peter Odell, adjusted quickly and went on to win the next set 6-2 and the tiebreaker 10-4.
On Saturday, the Jumbos played a doubleheader against Bowdoin and Brandeis, losing the matches 8-1 and 5-4, respectively. Against the No. 13-ranked Polar Bears, the Jumbos were more competitive but still overmatched. Two singles matches came down to tiebreakers, as Lutz and sophomore Morrie Bossen both managed 6-3 second-set victories. Unfortunately for the Jumbos, both went on to drop their tiebreakers 10-7.
The lone win for the Jumbos against Bowdoin came at first doubles, as sophomore Kai Victoria and junior Jake Fountain cruised past Bowdoin senior Jamie Neely and sophomore Kent Winningham 8-2.
Tufts followed up the Bowdoin match with a tilt against Brandeis and looked as though it could achieve its lone victory of the weekend. The Jumbos started off with an early 2-1 lead in doubles, as Fountain and Victoria won their second consecutive match together by a score of 8-5, while Landers and Lutz also pulled out an 8-5 victory. The pairing of Victoria and Fountain has been one of the bright spots for the Jumbos this season, and the two have continued their good play this season with wins against MIT in addition to their wins against Brandeis and Bowdoin.
But Brandeis mounted a comeback in singles, winning four of its six matches to pull out the 5-4 overall victory.
"Against Brandeis, everyone put in a great effort and fought really hard, especially [sophomore] Sam Laber ,who put in a great effort in his match coming back from a large deficit," senior tri-captain Andrew Rosen said. "It was a great match between two evenly matched teams, but we came up a little short."
The meet ultimately came down to a dramatic sixth-singles match that was decided in three sets. Freshman Ben Barad took the first set from Brandeis freshman Fred Rozenshteyn 6-1 and looked poised to push his record to 5-1 in collegiate singles play. But Rozenshteyn battled back to win the next two sets 6-4, 6-1 and take the match. Laber also took part in a highly competitive match at No. 3 singles, from which he emerged with a 7-5, 7-5 victory.
The Jumbos have now lost four consecutive matches after winning their first meet of the spring season, but they will get an opportunity to redeem themselves when they travel to upstate New York to take on Hamilton College, a team with which Tufts feels it matches up well.
"In the past, we have played very well against Hamilton, winning the past couple of years," Rosen said. "We like our chances, and we are looking to go and win against them."
