After a strong start to the season, the Cardinals seem to have hit a speed bump. The men’s squad conceded back-to-back conference defeats to Bowdoin and Tufts, snapping a ten-match winning streak dating back to the fall season.

The team put their 12-1 record on the line against a 10th ranked Bowdoin team on Saturday morning. The results were not what they had hoped for, with Bowdoin handily defeating the Cardinals 9-0. A few players managed to test their opponents, nearly taking sets and the momentum that comes along with it. Playing #2 singles, Stephen Monk ’15 pushed his opponent to a tiebreaker in the first set. Two other freshman, #3 seed Ben Hudson ’15 and #4 Donovan Suh ’15 both managed to capture five games before going down 7-5 in their sets. The doubles teams offered an admirable effort as well. Alex Rachlin ’15 and Jeff Legunn ’13 lost a close 9-7 battle as the #2 pairing, while the #3 group of Monk and Suh managed to come even closer, losing by a slim 9-8 margin.

On Sunday, the Cardinals traveled to Boston in hopes of rectifying their loss from the day before. Yet the bitter taste of defeat following their match versus Bowdoin was not remedied after playing Tufts. The result was the same—a 9-0 loss at the hand of a conference opponent. Donald Kleckner ’13 played well, demonstrating his patented toughness at the #5 singles spot. He managed to split sets with his opponent, but lost the match at the hands of a super-ten tiebreaker. Captain Legunn, playing #1 singles, was behind 2-4 before being forced to retire due to a lingering knee injury suffered the match earlier against Bowdoin.

Despite the two defeats, the team still remains optimistic for the future, not forgetting the other twelve successes they have amounted throughout the season.

“The results weren’t in our favor, but we’re going to continue to persevere,” said junior leader Michael Glen. “We’re still expecting winning results in the near future.” The Cardinals hope they can recapture some of the magic demonstrated in Florida, where they grabbed seven straight victories. The next opportunity will present itself on the road this Saturday against an unranked Colby College team.