Daniel Eicholtz | Student Life

Junior Isaac Stein hits a forehand. Stein won his singles match against Carthage 7-5, 6-3.

Dropping only one set in nine matches, the No. 2 Washington University men’s tennis team continued its hot streak with a 9-0 sweep of Carthage College at the Tao Tennis Center on Saturday.

To start off the day, the Bears won all three doubles matches, which, according to Head Coach Roger Follmer, is always a key to victory.

“We did a very good job in doubles, and we got stuff going,” Follmer said. “We took care of the basics: the first ball, the second ball shots, the serve, the return, the first volley.”

Leading the doubles charge was the No. 3 doubles team—juniors Isaac Stein and Max Woods, who defeated Sammy Ramoni and Jeffrey Lotz, 8-1.

“When we are playing our best doubles, we are attacking the net, we are being aggressive and we definitely did that…I think we need to continue doing that for the rest of the season,” Stein said.

Getting ahead early in doubles took some of the heat off of singles players, according to senior John Watts.

“Whenever you are able to jump out 3-0 in doubles, it really just gives everyone an advantage for singles, just because the other team knows that they really have to win every singles match in order to win,” Watts said.

Watts handily defeated Sammy Ramoni of Carthage, 6-0, 6-1, in first singles. “I think I played pretty well, and [my opponent] was a little discouraged about how the match was going so far, so I just tried to stay on top of him [and] play well,” Watts said.

In addition to Watts’ win, Stein, freshman Adam Putterman, junior Max Woods, senior Danny Levy and freshman Gary Parizher each recorded singles victories to complete the sweep.

With only three more matches until the University Athletic Association championships, the team feels like the match against Carthage was an indicator that the squad is moving in the direction of where it needs to be.

“We have been working a lot on proving a lot of things, like our competitiveness in matches,” Watts said. “I think we have some more goals to improve on to eventually get to where we want to be, but getting through a match like this and doing very well, I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”

Stein believes that a key element to proving this competitiveness is to be fitter and mentally tougher than his opponent. Stein explained that as a match progresses, being able to outlast one’s opponent is pivotal to winning the match.

“One of the things that Coach stresses is staying composed and being confident—so if you are in a tight situation, loving the tight situation and battling your way out of it,” Stein said. “[In my last match], I think I stayed a little more mentally composed than [my opponent] did, and I think some of the conditioning I’ve been doing really paid off because I felt fresh, even late in the match.”

Wash. U. (10-3) returns to action on Wednesday, April 14, taking on Division II opponent University of Missouri-St. Louis (2-6).

Junior John Watts hits a backhand at a match in the Bear's 5-3 victory over Gustavus Adolphus College in the NCAA Quarterfinals. (Matt Mitgang)

Washington University’s men’s tennis team saw their school record setting 19 match win streak end and finished fourth in the NCAA Championships.

The top ranked Bears were upset 5-2 by No. 6 Amherst College in the NCAA national semifinal round on Wednesday. That loss was the team’s first since Feb. 22, setting up another battle with UAA rival Emory University in the third place match.

Emory defeated the Red and Green 5-3 to take third nationally. The Bears held the 2-1 advantage after doubles play as junior John Watts and senior Nirmal Choradia delivered the No.3 doubles point with an 8-2 win. Seniors Charlie Cutler and Chris Hoeland then won at No. 1 doubles. The momentum started shifting as Emory won three straight singles points. Down 4-2, Watts had a 6-3, 2-6 and 6-3 win at No. 1 singles over Michael Goodwin. Emory’s Chris Redmond defeated Hoeland 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, sealing the Bears’ fate.

With Wash. U.’s loss, both teams continued their recent trend of trading wins. Wash. U. defeated Emory in the 2008 NCAA championship match. Emory then triumphed over the Bears in the 2009 ITA Division III Indoor Team Championships in February. Wash. U. captured its first UAA championship in school history after defeating Emory in April.

In the Amherst match, Wash. U. took only one of three doubles points as Watts and Choradia won at No. 3 doubles. Watts delivered the only other point with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Zach Lerner. Amherst picked up wins at the No. 2, 5, and 6 slots securing their trip to the championship match.

Wash. U. cruised through most of the tournament after securing a first round bye. In the second round, the Red and Green swept Carthage College 5-0. The Bears then defeated No. 12 DePauw University 5-0 in the Central Regional Championship match.

The Red and Green encountered some difficulty with No. 9 Gustavus Adolphus College with only a 5-3 win. Sophomore Isaac Stein, junior Danny Levy and Hoeland all picked up singles wins at No. 4, 5 and 6 respectively. Watts and Choradia won at No. 3 doubles while Stein teamed with classmate Max Woods in a victory at No. 2 doubles.

Watts competes in the NCAA Men’s Singles Championships while Hoeland and Cutler aim for the Doubles Championship. First round action begins on May 22.