The men’s tennis team traveled to the ECAC Invitational in Boston, Mass., last weekend, managing to post a win against Dartmouth in the first round. The Red was not so successful against Brown, however, losing to the eventual tournament champion in the second round of play.
The Red was seeded no. 7 in a field of 16, and came away with an important Ivy League win against 10th-seeded Dartmouth, squeaking by 4-3 in a very tight match. Sophomore Zach Gallin led the team both on the court and in intensity, pumping up the Red before he won the match that clinched the victory.
Senior Pat Hagan spoke of Gallin’s contributions.
“He really stepped it up,” Hagan said. “He’s had to step it up to number one singles, and he has. He’s just a tremendous player and leader. He was very vocal after we dropped the doubles match, and he came up big to clinch the match for us.”
In the second round of matches, the Red dropped a match 6-1 to a very talented Brown squad. Seeded no. 2 in the tournament, Brown lost only two matches in four rounds on the way to an impressive tournament championship victory.
Senior Stefan Paulovic talked about the Brown match.
“Sometimes there’s some [consolation] in losing to the winner,” he said. “They’re a great team, and it’s nice to see that they won.”
Hagan had similar thoughts.
“Going in, I thought we had a chance to win [against Brown], and I still think we have a chance to win,” Hagan added. “They’re an excellent team, and it gives us something to shoot for as a team. Winning against teams in the Ivy League is a goal for us, and that makes Ivy games the focus of our season.”
Looking to the future, both seniors saw positives in the team.
Paulovic added, “We’re a young team. We have [Pat and me] and a bunch of sophomores. So, we’re very pleased with this finish. I think it was our best finish there in 15 years, so to be able to win where we did was a good step for this team.”
Hagan spoke similarly.
“Sometimes it helps to be as young as we are. It’s promising. They don’t know who they’re supposed to lose to. These are the first dual matches for some of these guys, and it’s a different experience.”
Both players were surprised to see no. 1 seed Harvard fall in the semifinals to Yale.
Hagan commented on the results. “Yale really gets up for Harvard, they always do. Every year they’re pumped to play them, and it shows. I don’t know if we have any personal rivalries like that, but we’re a young team. This tournament was probably the highlight of our fall schedule.”
Looking forward into upcoming matches, Hagan continued, “Army is our biggest rivalry right now, and they’re coming up soon. Beating them and beating the Ivy teams is our goal for the rest of the season.”
Archived article by Matt Nassr