Men’s tennis is serving up against teams from Rutgers, Army, St. Bonaventure and Stony Brook today at the Army Invitational. The team will be competing through the weekend.
According to senior captain Stefan Paulovic is optimistic going in against less than “stellar teams.”
“I expect us to win most of the flights,” said Paulovic.
The team recently earned impressive 4-3 victories over Penn State and Dartmouth, finishing in its highest position at the ECAC in Cornell history. However, Paulovic warned the team that “it’s no reason to become complacent.”
The Red will be competing without three of their players, including Paulovic and senior Pat Hagan. This is a concern since “Army is always a very tough competitor,” said Paulovic.
However, the captain is confident in his team’s ability to win, if they play at their best game.
“If the guys play up to their capability, they’ll do very well,” said Paulovic encouragingly. The seventh-seeded Red play with a strong record winning against 10th seeded Dartmouth last week with a tense 4-3 score.
The first flight singles are scheduled to be played by sophomore Zach Gallin, who led the team on the court at the ECAC invitational, and senior Chris Lewis.
The team has made it its personal goal to beat Army and the Ivy teams at this invitational, according to Hagan. Beating second-seeded Brown may be a challenge for the Red who lost against them at their last meeting. However, Hagan is confident that beating Brown is not an unattainable goal for the Red.
“It’s going to be a good chance for new players to step up,” said Paulovic, adding that it will be beneficial for the newer players to gain experience without the more seasoned players present. The team is mostly lower classmen lead by a few experienced seniors. Competing without two of the Red’s key players may strengthen the team’s younger players, adding to their already strong performance.
Archived article by Leonor Guariguata