With all the expectations surrounding the 2015-2016 squad, the men’s tennis team did not disappoint in their first match of the season. Traveling to Stevens Institute of Technology in northern New Jersey to participate in their lone dual match of the fall, the Cardinals won 7-2 against an impressive opponent. Stevens, ranked 25th nationally. Stevens was no match for the 23rd ranked Cardinals.
Helping to overpower Stevens was All-American Steven Chen ’18, who won his match at two singles 6-1 6-2 and paired up with Sam Rudovsky ’16 for an outstanding 8-0 sweep in three doubles.
“We’re happy with how we played,” Rudovsky said. “It’s a testament to the hard work everyone put in both over the summer and in the first two weeks of our season; however, we understand that if we want to continue our rise in the ranks, we can’t be satisfied with one win and must continue to approach practices with the same focused mindset that we’ve had over the past two weeks.”
Also posting wins for the Cardinals in singles play were Jake Roberts ’17, Dhruv Yadav ’18, Joachim Samson ’19, and Cam Daniels ’18. Yadav teamed up with Win Smith ’18 for the Cardinals’ other doubles victory.
Roberts won a tough three set match by a score of 4-6, 6-3, 10-7. Yadav clinched the win with 6-0 and 6-3 victory at four singles.
“After a summer without competitive tennis, it was so gratifying to get the competitive juices flowing in a match that meant something,” said Yadav after his decisive victory. “Regardless of the score, I was having a lot of fun on the court, when I do this I think I play my best and the results follow.”
Despite the victory, the Cardinals must remain focused and hungry to continue being successful as the season progresses.
“Every match is just another part of the process,” Rudovsky said. “Everyone has elements of his game to improve but we will approach this week of preparation with confidence knowing that we can compete with top teams across the country.”
Yadav shared a similar view of the victory.
“The mental state of the team is that although this was a good win, to reach our goals we need to continue to work harder and harder into the fall season so that we can peak for the spring dual match schedule,” he said.
For a relatively young Cardinal’s squad, the senior leadership, showcased by Rudovsky, will certainly pay dividends throughout the season.
“As a senior, it’s beginning to dawn on me that I only have one more year of competitive, team-oriented tennis,” Rudovsky said. “I’m enjoying every second on court, which leads to a more focused mindset, and hopefully to success on match days.”
The sole loss in the singles lineup was from Mike Liu ’17 at one singles. Facing a fellow All-American who was ranked 22nd nationally in 2015, Liu lost a grueling and challenging match. Liu and Zacko Brint ’16 also suffered a tough loss at one doubles against another skilled pair from Stevens.
“The team performed well across the board,” Rudovsky added. “Everyone was dialed in and excited to compete against another school for the first time this fall. Mike [Liu] had a great effort against another All-American, but went down in two tough sets. The rest of the guys battled hard and were able to come out on top.”
Wesleyan’s clash against Stevens will be the team’s only dual match competition of the fall; however, a 7-2 victory against a competitive opponent is a sign of bright things to come for the spring season. Up next for the Cardinals is the ITA regional competition at Williams College on September 25-27 where select players from the squad will compete.
“We can build on this success going into individual tournaments because our confidence has grown from getting a big win at a team like Stevens,” Yadav said. “If we continue to play like we did yesterday, we can have great success in the individual tournaments in both singles and doubles.”