On Sunday the Cardinals prepared to face the Hamilton Continentals. Reeling from a 9-0 shutout at the hands of Williams College the day before, the team led early and often against Hamilton. The match was called early as Wesleyan built up an insurmountable points total before the whole team finished its matches.
Both Max Schenkein ’08 and Paul Gerdes ’09 were able to snag wins in doubles and singles to help solidify the first NESCAC win of the season for the Cards. Paired with Pauri Pandian ’08 at #3 doubles, (8-2) and playing at #6 singles, (6-1, 7-5) Schenkein was able to boost the team with two commanding victories. Gerdes teamed up with Alejandro Alvarado ’09 at #2 doubles and they battled for a 9-8 win and then Gerdes won by himself at #3 singles 6-3, 7-5. With four points in hand, the Cardinals needed only one more point to earn the victory and that came from Matt O’Connell ’09 at #1 singles, who battled back from a set down to win 6-7, 6-4, 6-2. After clinching the victory, the other matches ceased although Pandian, Michael Frank ’08 and Graham Immerman ’09 were all battling for points at the time.
After a busy weekend the team returned home for a match against Vassar on Wednesday afternoon. Looking to build some momentum at the end of the year, the Cards fought hard but seemed to be struggling all day. Shots were going awry and Vassar was able to capitalize, taking an 8-1 win. The lone win came from Immerman at #5 singles with an assertive 6-0, 6-4 performance. All Wesleyan singles players were knee-deep in their matches, but they just could not find their rhythms and all eventually fell in defeat.
On Thursday, the Cards looked to continue their winning ways in the NESCAC against a team they have owned in the past. The Cardinals have won matches against Connecticut College seven years in a row. The trend continued, as the Cards were able to pull out a 5-4 victory over the Camels, after overcoming an early deficit.
The cards hope to improve to 2-4 in the conference, which would put them in a tie for sixth place. That would be extremely impressive as the NESCAC is renowned as the most difficult division in Division III men’s tennis.
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