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The men’s tennis team is back this fall with a vengeance. After a tough defeat in the NCAA quarterfinals last spring to Middlebury, the Cardinals are ready to start anew in pursuit of a collegiate title.  

Last season’s quarterfinals defeat at the paws of the Panthers was not an easy one to swallow. After posting a 14–3 regular season record, Wesleyan was bested by Middlebury in the NESCAC semifinals. The Cards quickly recovered, though, handily defeating John Carroll University and Kenyon College in early NCAA matchups, marching towards the NCAA title. 

Despite some strong individual performances in the NCAA tournament, the Cardinals once again fell to Midd in a close quarterfinals matchup. Wesleyan earned the first victory of the day when Princeton Carter ’20 and Jonathan Holtzman ’20 picked up an 8–2 victory over Middlebury’s Noah Farrell and Alex Vanezis at second doubles. Wesleyan even increased its lead to 2–0 in the top-slot as Noah Lilienthal ’22 and Adrian Roji ’21 topped Panther duo Lubomir Cuba and Peter Martin. The momentum for the Cardinals was short lived, though, as Middlebury took over the match and won the remaining five faceoffs. The win advanced the Vermont team to the semifinals, where it eventually lost to Emory University, the 2019 NCAA Champion.

Despite all their success last year, the Cardinals are hungry for more in the 2019-20 season. No seniors graduated with the class of 2019, so the team will be returning its core talent from last season’s quarterfinal run. As Holtzman does not return for a final season, Carter will be the lone senior atop the roster, looking to lead the team both on the court and off. Andrew Finkelman ’21 and Lilienthal will look to dominate the year’s matchups once again. Zach Fleischman ’21, Ali Mooraj ’21, and Marcus Sweeney ’21, along with Roji and Finkelman, complete a junior class bursting with ambition and looking to make some key contributions this season. The sophomores this year—Peter Anker, Max Lee, Zach Lieb, and Lilienthal—will also bring some significant experience with them from last season’s postseason matches.The team has also added two first-years, Clay Gaieski and Brian Lee.

The men began their fall season this past weekend at Quinnipiac University, competing against the hosts as well as Fairfield University, Fordham University, Marist College, and the University of Connecticut. 

After a three-day tournament, Carter and Lilienthal finished as doubles champions in the A flight. Each member of the pair also made strides in the A singles competition: Carter dominating players from UCONN, Fairfield, Marist, and Quinnipiac, respectfully, before losing at the hands of a third Marist competitor in the finals. Lilienthal followed one step behind, dominating Fairfield and Fordham on Day 2 before a tough Day 3 loss to Marist.

In the B flight, Fleischman and Anker defeated Fairfield in the quarterfinals, while a fresh doubles team of Lieb and Gaieski fell to Quinnipiac. Anker and Lee continued their first days in the A flight singles draw, where they joined Carter in victory, each win highlighted by a super-tiebreaker.

Gaieski joined Lee in the B singles draw, where he once again fell, this time to Marist. Lee fared better in the singles flight, taking his first college victory against Quinnipiac in a super-tiebreaker. 

The men’s tennis team should be primed for a successful season. It is remarkable that the Cardinals did not graduate a single senior last season, allowing them to gain valuable experience that can be translated into success for this upcoming year. Head coach Mike Fried is returning for his eighth season.

“The level of tennis was very high for our first tournament of the year, and I thought we competed well across the board,” Fried said to Wesleyan Athletics.

Women’s tennis, which Fried also coaches, is coming off a historic season, winning a NESCAC title, as well as a national championship. Fried is likely looking for his men’s team to put together a similar performance, and having a coach prepared for the challenges of the postseason will certainly be a valuable asset. After last season, they have the experience necessary to do something great. It is now up to the team to go out and bring that title back to Middletown. 

The Cardinals will continue their season on Friday, Sept. 27, when they head to Colby College for the ITA New England Regional Championships.

Nicholas Keating can be reached at nkeating@wesleyan.edu.