Starting with a sweep over Franklin & Marshall at home, the men’s tennis team has cruised to a remarkable six-match winning streak over the past two weeks. Last weekend, Hopkins hosted Swarthmore on Friday, battling to a 6-3 win, and won both of their matches with ease on Saturday. Their record boosted to 14-4 on the season and 8-0 in the conference.
Hopkins remains the only undefeated team in the Centennial Conference after Swarthmore lost to the Blue Jays. Hopkins opened with the lead as freshmen Michael Buxbaum and Emerson Walsh dominated their opponents en route to an 8-3 win in first doubles. At third, freshman Jeremy Dubin and junior Erik Lim carried the momentum in the battle between two powerhouses, prevailing with the 8-4 victory.
Swarthmore took one back in an agonizingly close match at second as sophomore Nicholas Garcia and junior Noah Joachim lost 9-7. Junior Sam Weissler quickly turned the tide for Hopkins, dropping just one game at sixth singles. Garcia’s 6-2, 6-4 win at fourth brought them within one match of victory, and Lim clinched the match at fifth with a convincing 6-1, 6-3 win. Dubin struggled at third singles, losing 6-3, 6-2, and Buxbaum was unrelenting as he won 6-4, 6-3 at first. The last match of the day went back and forth before junior Ben Hwang took a 6-4 loss in the final set to fall 6-1, 1-6, 6-4, but Hopkins was able to celebrate their 6-3 match win.
On Saturday, Hopkins was able to sweep conference opponent Muhlenburg. The match opened at first doubles with junior Edward Corty and freshman Jeff Mackenzie jumping out to a 5-0 lead before winning 8-3.
“Ed and I were able to return well and make plenty of first serves, so we were able to win convincingly,” Mackenzie said.
At third, senior Joonas Karjalainen and sophomore Nathan Law never let go of the lead as they also cruised to an 8-3 victory. Closing out doubles play, seniors German Gonzalez and Jeremy Schwartz looked determined as they hung on to a 9-7 win. In singles, Hopkins ceaselessly attacked the overwhelmed Muhlenburg, as Corty crushed his opponent 6-3, 6-1 at second.
“I could tell that he wasn’t moving side to side well in singles so I started to take advantage of that using angles,” Corty said.
At third, Schwartz clinched the match with a smooth win, giving up just a game in each set. Mackenzie fought back after a tiebreaker loss in the first set to refocus and win the first singles match in three sets 6-7, 6-1, 10-5. Sophomore Chris Jou was able to dominate by focusing on returning his opponent’s big serves, coasting to a 6-2, 6-2 win at fourth. With the match in the books, Karjalainen won easily at fifth, 6-2, 6-1, and Gonzalez took prevailed 6-4, 6-2 at sixth for the last match. The 9-0 win was a huge success for Hopkins.
“It is always difficult to come off a long bus ride and have the intensity immediately," Jou said. "However, I think that we went focused and had a good warm up, so we were ready for the matches."
At Mary Washington, Hopkins took command, dropping just one doubles match. Buxbaum and Walsh carried their triumph from Friday, again opening with an 8-3 win at first. Dubin and Lim put up another quick point on the boards as they defeated their opponent 8-2 at third. The last doubles match, at second, was another unfortunate loss for Garcia and Joachim, who once again fell just two games shy of victory.
Hopkins regained its force in the singles bracket, not giving up even one match. At first, Buxbaum led the team, winning 6-2, 6-4 in an almost effortless fashion. Dubin also had a secure cushion throughout his match, carrying his lead to a 6-4, 6-4 victory at third. The other matches were very tight, proving their focus in trying situations. Lim clinched the Hopkins victory at fifth, in which the second set went to a tiebreaker before he closed out the match, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). At second, Hwang also needed to win a tiebreaker in the first set to seize the 7-6, 6-3 win. The fourth and sixth singles matches both went to three sets, with Weissler reigning victorious with a 6-3, 3-6, 6,3 win at sixth, and Garcia taking it down the wire before proving strong to win 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7).
With its wide array of talent, the men’s tennis team has clinched the conference title, as well as the first seed in the conference tournament. The Jays will look to add to their six-match win streak as they visit North Carolina Wesleyan and conference opponent Washington College on the 26th in split-squad matches, also hoping to finish undefeated in the conference as they play their last conference match.
