The Emory men tennis team finished their weekend at Middlebury College (Vt.) 2-1, defeating the Skidmore College (N.Y.) Thoroughbreds and the Tufts University (Mass.) Jumbos but losing to the Middlebury Panthers.
“We played three very good teams. We handled the first two matches really well. We had scheduling problems and we weren’t used to the cold,” Head Coach John Browning said.
In the first match against the Thoroughbreds, senior Alex Ruderman played first singles, defeating sophomore Kai Yuen Leung in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-3. Senior Eric Halpern played second singles, winning 6-2 and 7-5 against junior Kit Sanderson. Junior Rafe Mosetick played third singles defeating freshman Steven Koulouris 6-1 and 6-3. The Eagles swept the rest of the singles competition losing only five games in the remaining three matches.
In the doubles competition, Ruderman partnered with senior Ian Wagner in the first singles spot, defeating the Thoroughbreds 8-5 in a pro set. Halpern and sophomore Aman Manji played second singles, losing to the Thoroughbreds. Mosetick and freshman David Omsky played third doubles, defeating their opponents 8-4. The Eagles ended with a 8-1 victory against Skidmore.
The second match against Tuft’s was much closer, with the Eagles narrowly achieving a 5-4 victory. The Eagles were up 2-1 after the doubles competition with wins coming from the teams of Halpern and Manji and Mosetick and Omsky. Ruderman and Wagner lost their match 5-8. The Eagles edged out the Jumbos, winning three of the remaining five singles matches to Tufts’s two.
The final match was against Middlebury. Ruderman lost in first singles, 4-6 and 2-6, against junior Ari Smolyar. Halpern lost in second singles in a close match against freshman Noah Farrell, losing 6-3, 5-7 and 3-6. Mosetick was able to pull off a victory in third singles, defeating junior Palmer Campbell 6-7, 7-5 and 6-4. The Eagles won one of the remaining three singles matches, bringing the score of the singles competition to 6-2.
In the doubles competition, the team of Ruderman and Wagner played against Campbell and senior Peter Heidrich in the first doubles position, and lost 3-8. Halpern and Manji once again played second doubles, losing 5-8 against Smolyar and Farrell. Mosetick and Omsky continued their strong performance, winning their doubles match 8-2 against senior Chris Frost and freshman William de Quant.
“It’s hard when you go down in the doubles,” Browning said. “It put a lot of pressure on the singles players. We have a split record with Middlebury over the years and they just beat us this time.”
The team knows Middlebury poses a challenge, as its one of their toughest matches of the year, according to Ruderman.
“It’s important to play against that level of competition,” he said. “That’s really what we are training for.”
Emory returns to action tomorrow (Wednesday, April 15), when the team will compete away against the Sewanee: The University of the South (Tenn.) Tigers.
Men's Tennis Goes 2-1 During Away Weekend
Senior Ian Wagner celebrates winning a point. Wagner and the Eagles won two matches and lost one last weekend in Vermont. | Courtesy of Emory Athletics
Senior Alex Ruderman prepares to hit the ball. Ruderman and the Eagles will travel to Sewanee: University of the South (Tenn.) this Wednesday. | Courtesy of Emory Athletics
