The Hopkins men’s tennis team was busy at work this past weekend, taking on several formidable opponents. During their numerous matches, the Jays were able to accomplish a feat that many take for granted: making our school proud. The 10th ranked Jays traveled to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Cleveland, Ohio and came away with a result that was not only rewarding, but one that left them hungry and prepared to take their games to the next level.
To start off the weekend, Hopkins squared off against a strong Emory University squad, who came into the tournament ranked sixth overall. With an impressive display of tennis in both singles and doubles play, Hopkins was able to shake off any rust and pounce on the Eagles right from the get go. To start, Hopkins jumped out to a 3-0 team lead after winning all three doubles matches. At first doubles, freshmen Michael Buxbaum and Emerson Walsh defeated the reigning national doubles champion Ian Wagner 8-6, while juniors Erik Lim and Tanner Brown handily won at second doubles, 8-2. At third doubles, sophomore Nicholas Garcia and junior Noah Joachim won 8-6 to seal the deal and give Hopkins a 3-0 lead.
After dominating in doubles play, it was then up to the singles group to maintain the momentum and grab more victories for the Jays. Brown got things going with a quick win in straight sets to bring the lead to 4-0. After surrendering the next two points in very close matches, freshman Jeremy Dubin got Hopkins back to its winning ways, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in a three-set battle. Junior Sam Weissler sealed the victory for the Jays, as he controlled the pace in the match at sixth singles to bring the score to 6-3 overall, sealing an upset victory for the Jays over the Eagles.
The next opponent for the Blue Jays was 13th ranked Case Western Reserve University. This match proved to be quite different from the previous matchup versus Emory, as Hopkins had to rely heavily on the singles matches. Case Western jumped to an early lead after capturing the doubles matches 2-1. Garcia and Joachim were able to seal another victory, but the Jays couldn't solve the top two duos for Case Western. Heading into the singles matches, the Jays knew that a trip to the championship round of the tournament was at stake. Using this mentality as fuel for motivation, Hopkins went on to win five of six singles matches to finish the match 6-3 solidifying another “W” in the win column. Winning singles matches for the Jays were Weissler, Dubin, Lim, Buxbaum, and junior Ben Hwang.
After taking down two solid opponents, the Jays were prepared, motivated, and determined to play in the ITA championship match. The squad was set to face off against the Bears from Washington University in St. Louis. Hopkins was able to get off to a fast start and gain an early advantage, winning two of three matches in the doubles bracket.
Brown and Lim came together for a critical win while Garcia and Joachim continued to cruise past their opponents for their third victory of the weekend in doubles. Brown and Lim had one of the more exciting matches of the day, as they fell behind 5-2 before rallying for an impressive come-from-behind victory.
Unfortunately for Hopkins, the singles matches proved to be an overwhelming test as they were unable to build off of the rhythm in the match against Case Western a day before. The Jays dropped five of six matches against the Bears and lost in the championship match by a final score of 6-3. Buxbaum was the lone winner in singles, as he won a spirited matchup against Ross Putterman from Wash U, winning in straight sets 7-5 and 6-1.
Despite the tough loss in the championship, the Jays put together a great weekend of success.
"The weekend was an overall success. Although we did not take the title, we did accomplish many of our goals. We defeated Emory for the first time in school history and this was the first time we reached the finals in the ITA national indoors in the schools history. The future looks bright. We added some tremendous new freshmen into the lineup and they performed well under pressure. We look to improve our games and prepare for the national championship in May,” Lim said.
The men return to the courts again on March 2 where they will take on Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. The match is set to start at 11:00 a.m. as the 10th ranked Jays meet the 22nd ranked Generals for the first time this season.
