After a disappointing 2009−10 tennis season during which the men's team finished below .500 for the first time since 2005−06, the Jumbos were looking to prove themselves as they headed south for three of their four spring break matches, which included tilts with a trio of Div. II opponents in Florida and a showdown with Div. III No. 29 Vassar back in Medford.
After a predictably up−and−down bout with a series of Div. II teams, Tufts scored a key victory in its young season by taking down the Brewers 6−3 on Saturday at the Gantcher Center. The win was the squad's first against a ranked opponent in nearly two years.
"It was a big win for us," senior co−captain Paul Kohnstamm said. "Any time you can meet a nationally ranked opponent, it's big. One of our goals was to get back into the national rankings, so it should be helpful. We're taking a lot of accomplishment in that going into the conference schedule."
The Jumbos got off to a strong start against Vassar, taking a pair of doubles matches to jump out to a 2−1 lead. Junior Kai Victoria and sophomore Andrew Lutz won the match at the top of the ladder by a count of 8−5. Kohnstamm, meanwhile, teamed up with freshman Patrick Monaghan to notch the team another win at the No. 3 spot, 8−3.
In the singles matches, the Brewers responded with a pair of wins at the top of the ladder by the Guzick brothers. Junior Ben Guzick defeated Victoria at the No. 1 spot, while sophomore Andrew Guzick squeaked by Lutz at No. 2 in a marathon match, 6−7 (7), 7−6 (4), 7−6 (2).
But at the No. 3−6 slots, Tufts put away the overall match with a series of four straight−set victories. Sophomore Ben Barad dropped just a single game at No. 3, winning 6−0, 6−1, while senior Tony Carucci only dropped four games at No. 6 in his 6−2, 6−2 victory.
"The fact that we won [against Vassar] at three, four, five and six singles shows our tremendous depth and ability to replace even a great player like Austin," said Lutz, referring to freshman Austin Blau, who played No. 2 singles in the fall but who is currently sidelined by a broken finger. "It's a good sign for the season and is a great turnaround from last season."
While the bottom of the ladder performed admirably in the victory, the most impressive individual performance may have come from Lutz, who found himself matched up against the No. 7 singles player in the country in Andrew Guzick. Lutz took Guzick to a tiebreak in all three sets, winning 9−7 in the first set's tiebreak and losing the second two by narrow margins.
"It was the closest match that I've ever played," Lutz said. "It was an unfortunate loss. I had a match point on the second set on his serve, but he came up with a big serve. Then in the third set I was up a break; I was up 5−3. But he came up a little bigger in the big moments at the end of the match. I played a great match and it was really fun."
Lutz also credited his opponent for giving him a clean match throughout.
"It's not often that you see both sides in college athletes making very good calls in a close match," he said. "It was a clean match; we both called it very well and there were no real problems with line calls."
The win over Vassar marked Tufts' home−opener for the spring season, which officially began with a spring break trip to Florida for matches with three Div. II schools in as many days.
On March 22, the Jumbos fell 6−3 to St. Thomas University to conclude its stint in the Sunshine State with a 1−2 overall mark. Victoria and Lutz fought back from a 4−1 deficit to win, 8−6, while Barad and junior Sam Laber took the team's two singles victories.
One day prior, the team scored its lone victory in Florida thanks to a 6−3 decision against Palm Beach Atlantic. Sophomore Mark Westerfield teamed with junior co−captain Morrie Bossen to win at No. 2 doubles and also took a straight−set decision at No. 6 singles. The Jumbos' depth was once again on full display; coach Jim Watson's squad received wins at No. 3−6 singles, as well as at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
"Our depth is our strongest asset on our team but everyone top to the bottom is playing well," Kohnstamm said. "Kai and Lutz have done very well stepping up to play in the top two spots. We're confident we can get wins anywhere in the lineup."
Tufts opened its spring season with a 5−0 loss to Barry, the second−ranked team in Div. II. Four matches were unfinished when the match was called. Despite the lopsided score, the Jumbos viewed the opportunity to take on a nationally ranked opponent in a positive light.
"The Barry match is one of the best teams in the country in any division so it was great practice to play against some of the best teams, regardless of the result," Kohnstamm said.
With some experience under their belts, the Jumbos will turn their attention to consecutive NESCAC matches against Conn. College and Bowdoin. Seven of Tufts' final nine matches will be against conference opponents, beginning with a road contest against the Camels on Thursday at 4 p.m. Ann Sloan contributed reporting to this article.
