The Observer, March 7, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 20
Tartans beat up Spartans
Outgunned and outplayed, Case Western tennis fell to Carnegie Mellon in a double header last Saturday at Oberlin, the men 8-1, the women 9-0.
Playing first, the men had a three-match winning streak behind them against the 17th -ranked Tartans.
"We came in there knowing they were nationally ranked-knew their players were ranked. Hopefully we'll see them again in the playoffs, but I was hoping we'd do a little better," said junior Allen Ye.
Right off the bat, first and second doubles lost without much of a fight. However, the third doubles team of Kenneth Nguyen and Adam Erickson made fireworks, forcing Tartans Alex Nemerov and Nikola Ljuboja to beat them 9-7.
"I was watching and it was probably the best I've seen them [Nguyen and Erickson] play. Carnegie Mellon just has a bunch of talent from top to bottom. So even though they are an excellent third doubles, they ended up losing the match," said sophomore Mike Peterson.
The next match was even better for the Spartans, a three-set grinder with a tiebreak in the second. Joe Smetona defeated Bobby MacTaggart 6-4, 6-7, 6-4.
"Joe really picked up a quality win for us. He stepped up and showed what he was made out of," said Peterson.
The loss of John Smetona due to a muscle injury has hurt the Spartans in the singles department, the sophomore only being able to play first doubles with his limited mobility.
"We're hoping with some rest and physical training that by the time the conference tournament rolls around, he can be able to compete with the tops of the league," said Peterson.
Ye saw room for improvement. "There are too many excuses we could use; they were just the better team. I'm still excited about this season, and having a great time. We're 3-1 and we leave Saturday for Hilton Head to play tennis four to five hours a day. What more could you want?" asked Ye.
The women faced off next, first doubles team Kristen Ko and Marta Worwag starting off with an 8-2 loss.
"They are definitely as good as their ranking. We went in there knowing the quality team we were facing and planned on judging our performance based on how we felt afterwards. I think it was a learning opportunity," said sophomore Jennifer Clever.
After first singles Kristen Ko managed to get five games off Jenn Chui from Carnegie Mellon, 6-2, 6-3, the Spartans struggled even more. Singles four, five, and six were blanked.
"We all could have played a little better. That being said, they were just all-around better. They hit harder, and they always hit their spots. A big thing was how few personal errors they committed. It was either their winners or unforced errors by us," said Clever.
Being a small team of six, barely enough to fill all spots in team play, the Spartans' inexperience showed. Only junior Marta Worwag is an upperclassman.
"Competing with a team like that is definitely a goal in a few years when we've been hard at work and up to our potentials. It will take a while, but it is something I think we can achieve," said Clever.
The women's match on Tuesday with Oberlin was postponed due to freezing rain and was played after press time on Thursday.
