It was only the spring opener, but Wesleyan’s men’s tennis team was in midseason form, thrashing Rhode Island College 7-0 on Tuesday. Three Wesleyan players blanked their RIC opponents 6-0, 6-0 and all three doubles squads won convincingly with identical 8-1 scores.
“I’m liking the look of this season,” said Max Kates ’06. “We have a strong group of three seniors in the singles line up who know how to win. We have a ridiculously deep line up where literally every single match is a legitimate win. Also, tennis, like most sports, is 90 percent mental toughness, and we are an extremely mentally tough team.”
Kates started his own season off by knocking off RIC’s number one player 6-1, 6-0 in a match that was never in question. Tallen Todorovich ’07 and Evan Rhodes ’05, the number two and three players for the Cardinals, dominated as well. The final three seeds, Matt Cron ’05, Mike Roguly ’05 and Mike Frank ’08, cemented the singles sweep for the Cardinals, sweeping their own matches against Rhode Island College opponents who never had a chance.
In the doubles matches, the Cardinals somehow encountered even less resistance, and the teams blasted through from the top pair of Todorovich and Rhodes, to Kates and Jack Rooney ’07, and finally Cron and Roguly, as each pair dismantled their respective RIC foes. Though early season jitters can be especially harsh on the doubles pairs, with so much depending on communication and comfort with a partner, the Cardinals were very pleased with the way their own duos performed.
“Doubles-wise Jack [Rooney] and I are a very good doubles team,” Kates said. “My return-game compliments his serve game. Basically Jack and I both have power games, which works well in doubles. We’re like Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, minus the ‘roids.”
The team had mixed feelings on romping through such an easy early season match.
“I was disappointed because I would have liked a tougher match,” Cron said. “Still, it’s good to get a win under my belt.”
“Honestly, you don’t want to get a really tough match the first one of the season,” Kates said. “On the flipside, our team was not challenged at all, which makes it hard to gauge how good we are right now.”
Next up for the Cardinals is a newly scheduled date with Brandeis College, this Monday on the home courts. Two days later, Wesleyan takes to the road for their first away meet of the spring, a duel with Wheaton College.
“Brandeis is a very solid team,” Kates said. “We haven’t played them for two years and expect a very competitive, heavy hitting game. Wheaton also is a very tough team, and we are looking for some sweet home cooked Indian food afterwards with Pauri [Pandian ’08’s] loving family. These non-conference matches are a really good way to iron out the fundamentals, and also continue to expand on team unity.”
Looking beyond the opening matches of the season, Cron outlined the Cardinals’ mentality this spring.
“It’s nice to get a win, but we’re not content with beating the Rhode Islands of the DIII tennis world,” he said. “We’re gunning for the NESCAC title.”
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