Delivering one of the biggest wins of his Wesleyan career, Tallen Todorovich ’07 sealed an upset victory over nationally-ranked Wheaton College on Tuesday.
With the match against 25th-ranked Wheaton tied at 3-3, the junior clinched the match when his opponent sprayed a backhand wide on Todorovich’s match point to give the Cards a 4-3 victory.
After the final point, Todorovich jubilantly threw his racquet in the air while his ecstatic teammates rushed on to the court to celebrate the team’s biggest win in the last three years. The win was especially satisfying for a team that has suffered several agonizing defeats in recent years, including a handful of matches dropped by a 4-3 score last year.
“This win over number 25 in the nation, Wheaton College, was the most emotional win of my college career,” he said. “The fact that we had lost a close 4-3 match earlier in the year to another nationally ranked opponent, 27th-ranked Rochester, made this win so much sweeter. It really shows how the team has progressed and grown.”
Perhaps the most dominating performance of the day was served by captain Max Kates ’06. Kates played one of the best matches of his Wesleyan career, dispatching highly-regarded Payum Payman by a convincing 6-2, 6-3 decision. The match was especially sweet for Kates, as he avenged last season’s loss to Payman in straight sets. With the victory over Payman, ranked 39th in the country in singles just over a year ago, Kates solidified his spot as one of the top singles players in the Northeast, a fitting end to his collegiate tennis career.
“It feels good to have played so well,” Kates said. “I felt at home on the tennis court, I felt like it was my campus. It was my place for artistic expression, that’s how on I was. It is a fun feeling on the tennis court when you play that well, you can do what you want and you dictate points. I am really happy the way the match went.”
From the start of Kates’ match it was evident that the senior captain was ready to step his game up to another level. He jumped out to a commanding 3-0 lead, breaking Payman’s 120-m.p.h. serve at will.
“Max played with some incredible focus and intensity,” Todorovich said. “I was 100 percent sure he would win his match in straight sets after watching the first three games.”
Head Coach Ken Alrutz also praised Kates’ performance against Wheaton.
“Max’s Wheaton opponent is one of the biggest hitters I have seen the past two years,” Alrutz said. “Max Kates, though, feeds off pace; nothing intimidates him, and he thrives in the most important matches. The harder the Wheaton man slugged the ball, the more determined Max became, running down everything and refusing to give away any points.”
In addition, Kates praised the way Todorovich was able to close out his match in the second and third sets, as the junior controlled all facets of the game after losing the first set 6-4.
“Tallen methodically worked through his opponent, wearing him down and really bringing our team’s motto—’Extra effort, mental toughness to the floor,” Kates said.
The Cardinals also received a dominating performance from Jack Rooney ’07 at third singles, as he thoroughly dismantled his opponent, 6-3, 6-0.
“Jack kicked his guy’s ass,” Kates said. “It is the only way you can describe it, utter defeat. He made the guy wish he didn’t pick up a racquet that summer day when he was seven years old at the YMCA.”
Paul Gerdes ’09 pulled out a tough three set match at fifth singles, as he battled back after losing the second set with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win.
While Gerdes and Rooney were able to pull out critical victories, the day clearly belonged to Todorovich and Kates, who stepped up their games to another level on Tuesday in defeating two of the toughest players they have faced all season.
“The matches Max and Tallen played were amazing wins that not only required tremendous playing, but also nerves of steel,” Rooney said. “In tennis, you don’t have an entire team out there with you to take the pressure away, you have to bear it all on your own shoulders, and for the two of them to pull out those wins shows how tough are team is and how much we wanted that win.”
Mike Frank ’08 and Pauri Pandian ’08, who have pulled off several big matches at the bottom of the singles lineup this season, were defeated at the fourth and sixth singles positions.
On Tuesday the Cardinals ended their season with a 7-0 loss to Williams College, ranked 5th in the country. In his last collegiate match, Kates was defeated by Scott Mackenzie, ranked 43rd in singles. Despite losing the first set 6-0, Kates battled back in the second set and took a 5-4 advantage with his powerful groundstrokes coming to life. Mackenzie proved to be too much to handle, however, as Kates was downed 7-5 in the second set.
Looking to next year, Kates’ presence at the top of the lineup will certainly be missed. The Cardinals will have 12 players returning, however, including five of the six starters in the singles lineup. With this year’s experience under its belt, the tennis team should be able to build on their 10-5 record.
“Wes tennis is on the rise,” Todorovich said. “Next season look for the men’s team to be a staple in the national top 25 rankings.”
“The outlook for next year is good,” Kates said. “Tennis is a sport where the amount you put in off the court and practice has a direct response on how good you are on the court. If you put in the hours you’ll get better. I’m really glad that this year a culture has started of off season dedication and I think that we have great leadership coming in with rising seniors Vijay [Chaudhuri ’07] and Tallen and Jack. I think that their leadership will overwhelm mine and will be a huge improvement, and I look forward to that.”
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