The spring season for the men’s tennis team began back in January with a 7-0 sweep over St. Bonaventure at the Reis Tennis Center. Since then, the Red has rolled, winning nine of 10 matches thus far, six of which have been 7-0 shutouts.
But things will only become more difficult for the Red, which will go on a southern trip over spring break.
The trip includes visits to Blacksburg, VA to face host Virginia Tech and Memphis, and then to various locations in Florida to face Florida Atlantic, Stetson, and Iowa.
Cornell will begin its Ivy League schedule beginning March 29 at Columbia.
A big part of the Red’s success thus far has been due to the play of juniors Zach Gallin and Scott Spencer, the No. 1 doubles combination on the squad. The duo has posted a 6-2 record so far this year, with its lone losses coming during the fall season.
Spencer noted that playing with Gallin “is easy because we are such close friends, we really trust each other out on the court.”
Spencer, a doubles specialist, has also posted a 9-0 record in singles matches ranging from the No. 4 to No. 6 positions.
Spencer attributes much of his success to inspiration provided by team manager Narvy Krimsnatch, who is a freshman unable to participate this season.
“He really helps me out at practice,” he said, “and is a great inspiration to the team.”
Gallin, who reached the semifinals of the Princeton Invitational, did not play much singles in the fall due to a severe high ankle sprain. He has since returned from his injury and is now looking to improve upon his success of last year, which culminated in a selection to the All-Ivy second team.
Rock-solid Rookies
Freshman Brett McKeon has had a phenomenal singles season thus far, making it to the A semifinals at the Cornell Invitational as well as the final 16 of the regional championships at Penn. He has posted an 8-2 record in dual meets, going from the No. 4 spot in the beginning of the season, to consistently being at the No. 2 spot.
Spencer noted that McKeon, “takes care of business out there; he really doesn’t seem like a freshman.”
The only other freshman on the team is Ray Wu. Wu had quite an impressive fall, winning the D singles class at the Cornell Fall Outdoor tournament and the B singles at the Cornell Indoor tournament. He also finished second in his class at the Yale Invitational. Since then, Wu has posted a 3-0 record at the No. 3 and 5 spots in match play.
Mike Laycob, the lone senior on this year’s squad, reached the semifinals of the Cornell Indoor Invitational, and is 6-1 on the spring season. The rest of the junior class, including Julian Cheng, Aravinda Neuman, Scott Paltrowitz, and Michael Schlappig, have posted records of 5-1, 6-1, 5-2, and 4-0, respectively. Schlappig has paired up with McKeon in doubles, and the two have flourished, winning five of six matches this spring.
Cheng has teamed up with one of the sophomores on the squad, Matt Cherner-Ranft, to achieve a doubles mark of 5-2. Rounding out the sophomore class are Sunil Iyer and Abedin Sham, who have been consistent performers throughout the beginning of the spring season as well.
Archived article by Chris Mascaro