Tennis Teams Looking For Continued Success This Fall
Issue   |   Wed, 09/04/2013 - 10:31
Niahlah Hope ’15 Public Affairs Office
Joey Fritz ’14 leads a talented crop of seniors on both the men’s and women’s side.

MEN
The spring of 2013 saw another highly successful run for the Men’s Tennis team, which reeled off 15 wins in a row at one point and ultimately reached the NCAA Semifinals. Between the end of preseason and the NESCAC Championship game, the Jeffs were untouchable, winning every regular-season match (including five shutouts).

Unfortunately for the Jeffs, Williams, who had a similarly immaculate season, narrowly got the better of Amherst, 5-4, in the NESCAC Finals. This didn’t stop the Jeffs, however, from racking up three more wins in the NCAA tournament before being shut out by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

The Jeffs return a talented group of players this fall, led by All-Academic and All-NESCAC selection Joey Fritz ’14. Chris Dale ’14 and Michael Solimano ’16 are back after All-Conference selections in doubles, while Andrew Yaraghi ’16 is coming off a Rookie of the Year effort in the spring. Brenton Arnaboldi, Karan Bains, and Justin Hendrix will also provide invaluable senior leadership.

“As a team, we might need to adopt a more aggressive, in-your-face approach,” Arnaboldi said of this fall.
He added that the team’s main priority would be to improve its doubles play.

While the fall is mostly about staying in shape, Arnaboldi said, “Our goal is to win every match on the calendar.”
Of particular importance is a three-game road stretch against top-20 ranked teams Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon and Kenyon.

WOMEN

Of the team’s four events this fall, none is circled on the calendar in a bolder shade of red than an Oct. 5 home match against Williams. That’s partly because, as with the men, the women’s spring season ended at the hands of the Ephs in the NESCAC Finals.

Very similarly to the men, the women did not lose between March 22 and May 4 of last year, and, after being knocked off by Williams, they were able to record three more wins to reach the NCAA Semifinals.

Besides beating Williams, it would be difficult for the Lady Jeffs to have a better year than the one they just enjoyed. What’s more, the team’s senior class is large, and its talent is formidable.

Four seniors — Jordan Brewer, Gabby Devlin, Jen Newman and Zoe Pangalos — earned all-NESCAC honors last year, and Isabel Camacho ’14, Alex Budd ’14 and Maggie Seaver ’14, among others, will be integral components of a machine that will once again be finely tuned. It seems reasonable that both teams will expect to contend for the NCAA title come May.