Ten members of Emory men’s tennis team kicked off their fall season last weekend in Murfreesboro (Tenn.) at the USTA/ITA South Regional Championships. The winners earned an invite to the ITA Small College Championships, which will be held Oct. 15-18 in Sumter (S.C.).
Three of the top eight seeds in the singles competition were from Emory, and the team had five doubles teams participate. The team’s showing was strong at the singles tournament, as all 10 of the Emory participants won their opening two matches. Coach John Browning told the Wheel that the team’s strong offseason contributed to the impressive team performance.
“[Our offseason] was great,” Browning said. “It is a credit to the leadership of the veterans like Rafe [Mosetick], and it also speaks to the new guys, who have bought into the program very quickly. The team’s chemistry is right and they have been working hard.”
Junior Aman Manji agreed with his coach and attributed much of the team’s success at the tournament to a strong offseason.
“We were very well prepared,” Manji said. “Our team has three transfers and four freshman, and everyone working well in practice and putting in their full effort really translated in the tournament.”
Manji fell in a three set match to Mosetick in the quarterfinals. Mosetick would go on to meet teammate Jonathan Jemison in the finals. Browning was pleased with the performances of Jemison and the other freshmen, who were playing in their first tournament at Emory.
“Jemison is very talented and has a very bright future,” Browning said. “[To lose in the finals] was heartbreaking for him.” Jemison, along with fellow freshman Adrien Bouchet, also advanced to the finals of the doubles competition, narrowly losing to a team from Sewanee, 9-7. Brown was impressed by the effort of the freshmen and highlighted how important the experience of playing in a tournament final can be for a young player.
“It was neat to see the freshmen make the finals in doubles, and they had a chance to win,” praised Browning. “Anytime a freshman gets to the finals it’s pretty important for them, and it’s neat for those guys.”
Mosetick, a senior, beat Jemison in two sets in the final 6-3; 6-0. Mosetick’s win was the highlight of the tournament for Browning, who felt the team captain showed many of his best qualities throughout the tournament.
“Rafe has had a really tumultuous time at this tournament,” said Browning of his senior captain. “His sophomore year he was in the final and had a match point and ended up losing to a teammate. Last year, he lost in a close match in the semifinals. It was his last chance to win this tournament, and although he felt the pressure, he saved the best for last.”
Browning continued to speak highly of Mosetick and the example he sets for his teammates.
“To keep coming back and be resilient speaks volumes for him and serves as a great example for his teammates,” Browning said. “[For Rafe] it is a validation that hard work does pay off.”
As a result of his win at the tournament, Mosetick will have a chance to continue his success at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships in October.
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