The Wesleyan men’s tennis team jumped out to a fast start with consecutive wins, taking down Coast Guard 6-3 in New London, Connecticut, and making a triumphant return to the Wood Memorial Courts with a 7-2 victory in the home opener versus Nichols College. With the recent influx of freshmen into the men’s tennis lineup, these opening results set a strong precedent to build on in the coming weeks.

The Cardinal men are getting a lot of play from their new talent, with freshmen holding four spots in both singles and doubles. While #2 seed Zach Mintz ‘15 and #3 seed Ben Hudson ’15 both got off to rocky starts in singles, each falling to both Coast Guard and Nichols College, Donovan Suh ’15 and Stephen Monk ’15 picked up the slack lower down on the ladder, as both cruised to straight set wins in their two matches. On the doubles side, Hudson and Monk have laid a strong claim to the #1 seed with 8-6 and 8-2 victories in their first two matches together, while Charlie Seifer ’15 teamed up with tri-captain Donald Kleckner ’13 for a win as the #3 seed over Coast Guard and as the #2 seed over Nichols College. Mintz and tri-captain Jeff Legunn ’13 did not click as a doubles pairing off the bat, losing 4-8 to Coast Guard as the #2 seed, but they rebounded nicely against Nichols College with an 8-1 win at the #3 seed.

“They are all strong players who have shown a lot of heart and skill so far,” tri-captain Robert Troyer ’12 said of the freshmen. “As they get a few more matches under their belts they should get even better. I look forward to seeing what they can do in the future.”

The veteran Cardinals would not be overshadowed, however, delivering impressive performances themselves to anchor the team. Legunn shined as the #1 seed in singles play, downing his Coast Guard opponent by a score of 6-3, 6-1, and getting a win over Nichols College when his opponent retired due to injury with the score at 6-1, 2-1. Alex Hirsch ‘13 scored decisive wins at the #6 seed, with scores of 6-1, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-1 in his two matches, while Legunn and Kleckner each played instrumental roles in doubles play alongside their new teammates, performances smacking of a team that is beginning to get the most out of its deep and talented squad.

“It’s still early but the wins help to build confidence for the rest of the fall season and the upcoming NESCAC season in the spring,” Troyer said. “Our doubles play has been the best aspect of the wins so far. After last year there was much room for improvement and it’s great to see such strong play from the outset of this season.”

Up next for Wesleyan is a rare fall match at archrival Williams on Sept. 17th. The last time two teams met in the fall season was in September 2008, when Wesleyan lost by a score of 2-7; it was also the last time Wesleyan took a game off of Williams, who went on to shut out the Cardinals 0-9 in the next two meetings of the teams. Nevertheless, the Cardinals will look to capitalize on their fast start and earn their sixth ever win over the Ephs.

“They’re just another team on the way to our ultimate goal, the NESCAC tournament,” Troyer said. “We’ve played very well so far and as long as we maintain our high level of play I’m confident in our chances.”