After victories against No. 15 Trinity on Thursday and Wesleyan on Saturday, the men's tennis team can almost taste its first NESCAC Tournament berth in five years.
The Jumbos (10−5 overall, 4−2 NESCAC) traveled to Middletown, Conn., over the weekend and found a much tougher Cardinals squad than its 1−6 conference record might suggest.
Playing indoors on a foreign surface, the Jumbos struggled out of the gate but managed to salvage two of three doubles matches. Junior Kai Victoria and sophomore Andrew Lutz won 9−7, while senior co−captain Paul Kohnstamm and junior Sam Laber clinched the doubles segment of the match for Tufts with an 8−5 victory, though junior co−captain Morrie Bossen and sophomore Mark Westerfield were overpowered 8−4.
Lutz fell 6−0, 6−2 in the No. 1 singles match before sophomore Ben Barad and freshmen Patrick Monaghan and Austin Blau won at the next three spots in the ladder, all in straight sets. After Laber dropped the No. 5 pairing 3−6, 7−5, 6−4, the weight of the team fell onto senior Tony Carucci's shoulders.
Despite quickly losing the first set 2−6, Carucci stormed back to defeat Wesleyan's Michael Glen, winning the second and third sets 6−1, 6−3.
"Wesleyan opened the match well, but we finished it better," Bossen said. "Tony came up huge for us."
After Thursday's upset against nationally ranked Trinity, Lutz was surprised when the early results against Wesleyan, not considered a NESCAC power, didn't go the same way.
"We didn't expect Wesleyan to come out as strong as they did," he said. "Their courts were a very different surface, and we just didn't adjust well to start. After our big win against Trinity, we became almost overcontent and nearly lost to a struggling team. But it's the NESCAC; every team will give you a challenge."
Against Trinity, the Jumbos took two of the three doubles matches before ending the afternoon early by clinching a victory with a win in the No. 5 singles pairing.
"Beating Trinity was the biggest win we've had in my three years here," Bossen said. "Not only was defeating a nationally ranked team a huge boost to our confidence, but it was also pivotal for our position in the NESCAC."
Lutz was excited about what the victory means for the Jumbos' postseason hopes.
"They're an extremely strong team," he said. "Our goal is to qualify for NESCACs, and beating them goes a long way."
The match, which was held in the Gantcher Center due to rainy weather, began well for the Jumbos with No. 1 doubles partners Lutz and Victoria winning their match 8−6. The No. 2 doubles pairing of Bossen and Westerfield fell 9−7 to David Dessau and David Patrick of Trinity, but Kohnstamm and Laber emphatically took the No. 3 doubles tilt by a score of 8−2.
"We've been playing great doubles, and when facing good teams, you always try to take the lead there and go into the singles match with a cushion," Lutz said.
Holding a 2−1 advantage after the doubles matches, Tufts lost the first two singles contests. Aaron McCook defeated Victoria 6−4, 6−4, and Rich Bonfiglio defeated Lutz 7−6, 6−4 in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively.
The match then turned even further south for the Jumbos, and their chances of victory looked slim as they lost the first set in each of the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 singles matches.
But Tufts was not to be denied. Barad, Monaghan, and Blau all came from behind to triumph in three sets. Blau slammed opponent junior Charles McConnell in the third set 6−1, clinching the match and securing a team victory over the Bantams.
"It looked bleak for a minute," Lutz said. "But our guys made great comebacks and took care of business."
"Our ability to come from behind and pull out those close matches shows the resolve and competitiveness of our team," Bossen added. "We made a big statement with that victory."
Only two matches now remain on Tufts' regular season schedule: an away trip to nearby Brandeis this afternoon and a home match against Bates on Friday.
While Brandeis is merely a non−conference foe, tensions have risen in the past few years, and the Judges have morphed into an important rival.
"We've had some close and heated matches the last two years with them," Bossen said. "Let's just say our players haven't gotten along. The bad blood, along with the fact that they beat us 5−4 last year, has this match feeling like more than just an out−of−league game."
After facing Brandeis, Tufts hosts Bates in what could amount to a play−in match for the final of six spots in the postseason. With a victory over the Bobcats, the Jumbos would clinch a playoff berth. With a loss, however, they potentially could fall into a three−way tie with Bates and Trinity for the final two spots.
"Bates is going to be the biggest match of the year for us," Lutz said. "It's at home, though, and we're confident in our ability to find ways to win."
With a shot at their first NESCAC berth in five years, the Jumbos are already feeling the playoff−like atmosphere.
"It's win or go home now," Bossen said.
