In this week’s edition, we are lucky enough to have two featured athletes deserving of the Athlete of the Week honors. Sophomores Michael Buxbaum and Emerson Walsh recently cruised to an impressive victory at the 2014 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional Tournament this past weekend. Buxbaum, a tennis star from North Wales, Pa. played 11 matches over the course of a grueling three days, including four matches on the last day of the tournament to additionally earn the Singles title. Meanwhile, he and Walsh combined for the doubles victory to cap off what could only be described as an excellent and successful weekend for the Hopkins men’s tennis program. Both players earned the distinction of All-American due to their impressive play and additionally have earned the honor of Athlete of the Week.
Buxbaum’s success should come as no surprise — he was the number one seed in the singles tournament, and the Hopkins duo was number one in the doubles. However, it is somewhat unprecedented. Though Buxbaum is the fourth player in the team’s history to appear in both tournaments, he is the first to win both. Buxbaum and Walsh are the fourth Hopkins duo to win the doubles tournament, but the first to bring home the bacon in consecutive years. After last season, during which he helped Hopkins to a 20-5 regular season record and a berth in the NCAA Quarterfinals, while playing as the team’s number one for both singles and doubles, Buxbaum was named Centennial Conference Player and Rookie of the year and Division III ITA National Rookie of the Year. Meanwhile, Walsh has been a powerhouse in men’s doubles in his young career at Hopkins. In addition to earning the All-American distinction and ITA Southeast Championship, Walsh has ranked as high as fifth in the nation for all Division III tennis players and first overall in the Atlantic South in doubles play. He notched 21 wins in doubles matches as a freshman last year, the third most ever recorded by a freshman in program history. At the end of the weekend, both Buxbaum and Walsh earned All-America honors and qualification for the 2014 USTA/ITA National Small College Championship, to be held Oct. 9-12 in Sumter, S.C.
We had the opportunity to catch up with Walsh to discuss their reactions to the weekend’s great success as well as the team’s plan moving forward into the rest of the young fall season.
The News-Letter (NL): From what I can surmise from the recap of the weekend, it seems like the two of you pretty thoroughly dominated the doubles tournament, continuing an impressive streak that the two of you started last year. Is there a certain aspect of your game that you think may have enabled you guys to be so competitive?
Emerson Walsh: I think the biggest thing for the two of us is our chemistry. We’ve gotten very used to each other’s strengths and tendencies, and we’re able to capitalize at key moments in the matches we play. Mike and I are playing very solid doubles right now, and we’re happy to have extended our current winning streak.
N-L: Clearly the toughest opponents you guys faced were in the finals. What were Beisswanger and Kumar (Carnegie Mellon) able to do to neutralize you a little better than the other teams in the tournament?
EM: In the finals match, we were caught a little bit by surprise. The inclement weather caused the match to be indoors due to rain. As a result, Beisswanger and Kumar came out against us and played very aggressively. It took a long time for the two of us to get on top of their serves, and it showed in some segments of the first and second sets. However, we finished off the match very strong, despite some shaky moments in the middle. Fighting off three match points made for a very nerve-racking and rewarding finish.
N-L: How do you expect to translate you success here in the regional tournament to the national tournament and for the rest of the fall season moving forward?
EM: A season ago, Mike and I had the opportunity to play really well at the nationals tournament. Instead, we entered nationals with a very nervous mentality, and it showed with a tough, grinding early loss. That being said, I’m feeling great about South Carolina next week. As I mentioned before, Mike and I are just playing some of our best doubles right now. I think that as a duo, we have the potential to go very far into the national tournament this year, especially having the experience and overcoming the initial nervousness from the tournament a season ago.
Buxbaum and Walsh will look to continue their individual and dual success in both singles and doubles at this year’s ITA National Small College Championship down in South Carolina in two weekends. The duo will look to continue to dominate any opponents that stand in their way with their winning streak on the line.
