The Observer, March 3, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 19
Case tennis teams stumble back into action against CMU
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The men's tennis team kicked off the spring portion of its season this past week with a home match against conference rival Carnegie Mellon University. The Spartans had not played a match since the weekend of Sept. 23, while the CMU Tartans had already played four matches since Feb. 5.
Nevertheless, the Spartans came out strong against nationally ranked Carnegie Mellon. The men played very well against the 22nd-ranked team in the country, staying close until the end in most of the games.
The Spartans eventually lost 7-0, but kept the match much more competitive than the score implies. Five of the team's six singles matches went into a third set, and the No. 1 doubles team of Ben Sinder and Joe Smetona pulled out a win. Carnegie Mellon's early season experience may have been the difference in this match, according to senior captain Jon Waldman.
"We just happened to come out short on all of them," Waldman said. "It didn't help that it was our first match of the year and we were a little rusty. Carnegie has already played matches, and that definitely helped them win the close ones."
The Spartans were looking forward to the match in order to gauge their progress this past off-season, hoping to learn that their practice and hard work would lead to victories. Although younger members of the team may have been discouraged by the outcome of the match, the team's veteran senior leaders, Waldman and Cory Darrow, were actually encouraged by the team's performance.
"The matches showed us all that we still have a lot of work to do before stepping back into UAA competition later in the season," Darrow said. Darrow is anxiously awaiting being able to playing again, as he was unable to play against Carnegie due to a minor injury.
Waldman also added an optimistic take on the team's performance against Carnegie Mellon. "It was a good start to the year. We'll be sure to get revenge during the UAAs."
That optimism displayed by Waldman is common throughout the team. There is an aura of excitement as the spring season begins, with high hopes of success on the court. One of the reasons for enthusiasm is a talented base of young players blending together with a solid returning corps of veterans. With more experience, those younger players hope to pull out tough victories in close matches like the one this past weekend.
The women's team also battled Carnegie Mellon and came away with a similar result, dropping its match 8-1 to the Tartans. The lone win came from senior Lauren Gray, who defeated CMU's Asakao Hayaishi, 8-3, to begin her season with a win.
"[The win] was pretty exciting," Gray said. "I've never beaten Carnegie Mellon before. It was a good start to the season, even though it didn't turn out that way for the team."
Gray, like Waldman, cited CMU's earlier matches as an advantage for the Tartans. She also said that it was difficult to adjust to playing on a different surface after having been used to practicing in Veale for so long. Furthermore, Carnegie Mellon is simply one of the best teams Case will play this season.
"They are the only UAA team we play during the season and they are one of the tougher teams we play during the season," Gray said. "They did real well at the conference tournament last season."
Hopefully the match against the Tartans will serve as a tune-up for both teams as they prepare for the remainder of the season. They will not return to the court again until March 19 when the men and women will travel to Depauw University and Rose Hulman, respectively.
