Paltrowitz, Paltrowitz, Paltrowitz! He is only one member of an outstanding squad, but he has proven over and over again this season that he can lead the Red netters (14-5, 2-2 Ivy) to victory in heroic fashion.
“He is absolutely clutch, there’s no other way to put it,” Red coach Barry Schoonmaker put it.
Scott Paltrowitz, a sophomore from Queensbury, NY, who speaks softly but carries a big racquet, played a position higher than usual this Saturday.
He certainly rose to the occasion against the Green (12-7, 1-1), with a crucial singles victory against No. 3 seed Drew Dinkmeyer of Dartmouth, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Dinkmeyer entered the Reis center Saturday with a 13-match winning streak, and left a bit more humbled after his first loss this spring.
For the second week in a row, senior captain Stefan Paulovic and sophomore Aravinda Neuman claimed a much needed doubles victory — the Red’s only doubles victory of the afternoon — with an 8-6 win against the Green’s No. 2 pair.
Sophomore Mike Schlappig came away with another critical victory at the No. 6 position 6-3, 6-3. His success was followed by similar outstanding performances from classmates Zach Gallin and Julian Cheng, in the first and second singles positions, respectively.
“Gallin played with a pulled hamstring against their No. 1 seed and tore him apart 6-3, 6-2, and Cheng beat Dartmouth’s captain [Jeff Sloves] 7-5, 7-5. Sloves has been a real thrown in our side for quite some time now,” explained Schoonmaker.
The outcome against Dartmouth was much more favorable for the Red than the outcome against Harvard (10-5, 2-0) the day earlier. The Crimson took four of six singles points and two of the three doubles matches for the doubles point in a 5-2 loss.
Paulovic and Schlappig won the only points for Cornell with the senior victorious in the No. 3 match (6-4, 6-4), and Schlappig coming from behind to take the No. 5 spot 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Schlappig also paired up with Cheng to win the sole doubles match against Harvard, 8-6.
Freshman Matt Cherner-Raft took his opponent, George Turner into a third set, but retired due to injury after the outcome of the contest had swung in the Crimson’s favor.
“We go into every match expecting to win, but when we play other Ivy league teams it’s never easy,” Schoonmaker assured.
Archived article by Adam Zwecker