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The new tennis season is under way for the nationally 21st-ranked Washington University men’s tennis team (4-1), under the new direction of first-year head coach Roger Follmer.
The team began match play in late February with a decisive 7-0 win at Principia College in Elsah, Ill., then carried that momentum to San Antonio over spring break. The Bears went south for the first week of March and returned with a perfect 4-0 record overall. Most impressive was their defeat of Trinity University, the team ranked sixth nationally in NCAA Division III.
Noting that Trinity won the D-III National Championship two years ago in 2000, Ssenior captain and no. 3 singles player, Mike Feldman, commented on the win: “This is definitely the biggest win for our program, at least since I’ve been here.”
“It is arguably the biggest win in the history of men’s tennis at WU,” added no. 1 singles player, sophomore Brian Alvo. “Despite losing at the number 1 and 3 doubles positions, to go on to their home court and dominate them as much as we did in singles is just amazing.”
The Bears captured five of the six possible singles points, but lost the doubles point to the Tigers after dropping two of the three doubles matches. Alvo won at no. 1 singles 6-3, 6-4 while Feldman also succeeded by winning 6-3, 6-4 at the no. 3 position. Junior David Genovese pulled out a 6-3, 7-5 win at no. 4 singles.
However, it was the superb play of freshman Shaul Yecheskel that helped secure the overall win for the Bears. He was the only WU player to win both his singles and doubles matches. Yecheskel won at no. 6 singles,
6-1, 6-2, and then teamed with Junior Max Schlather to defeat TU at the no. 2 doubles position, 8-1.
“I felt like I owed it to the team to go out and give my best performance on the court because they have been very patient with me all year,” said Yecheskel. “I am just glad that I was able to play well.”
“Shaul has been a key contributor so far this season,” noted Feldman. “Both freshmen are a welcome addition to the team.”
The spring break trip to Texas also generated wins over Southwestern University, 5-2, and St. Mary’s College, 7-2.
This past weekend, the Bears took to the road again, something they are quite accustomed to-last year they had only one match at home. This time they traveled ten hours north to St. Peter, Minn. to take on the Gusties of Gustavus Adolphus, the second-ranked Division III team in the nation. Despite losing overall by the score of 6-1, the WU players felt that they made a strong showing.
“Gustavus is the best competition out there,” Alvo noted. “We played them indoors on their courts, but were still able to be competitive in a bunch of matches.”
“We can use this loss as a measuring stick. To be a contender for the national championship, we need to be able to play at their level,” added Feldman.
Again it was Yecheskel who played extremely well, the only WU player to come through with a win. After splitting sets with the G-A no. 6 singles player (6-1, 4-6), Yecheskel was able to secure a point for the Bears by dominating 6-2 in the third and final set. Unfortunately WU was unable to convert on any of the other close matches, which included: no.1 singles – Alvo lost 6-1, 6-4, no. 3 singles – Feldman lost 6-2, 7-5, and no. 4 singles – Genovese lost 7-5, 6-4.
The Bears hope to rebound from this recent loss next week, when they host Division II Southwest Baptist University for their first home match of the season. Until then, they will focus on improving their play, specifically in the doubles matches.
“We were lucky that we didn’t lose anyone to graduation, so therefore, this year we have a lot of depth and experience,” said Feldman. “Because two of our three doubles teams are new pairings this year, we just need to play more together so that are more comfortable with our partners on the court.”
The team is also getting comfortable with their new coach. “He brings a ton of experience from being an assistant at various Division I schools,” said Feldman on how the new coaching styles of Follmer has effected the players. “His calm demeanor on the court has had a very positive effect on us as players.”
“As a team, we are much more fit and disciplined,” said Alvo. “We have had a good start to the season and I think it will only get better.”
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