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Ranked No. 1 in ITA’s preseason rankings and set to defend their 2011 National Champion crown, the men’s tennis team rode the success of the 2010-2011 season into the 2012 season, as they started the year off with 13 straight wins.
After a successful ITA/Regional Championship tournament at Williams, the top- ranked men’s tennis team officially began its defending its title in Baltimore on Oct. 8 with a well-earned 6-3 dual match win over 13th-ranked Johns Hopkins.
After winning the singles draw of the ITA/Regional Championship earlier this fall, sophomore Joey Fritz came from behind to defeat Hopkins’ Andy Hersch 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 1 singles match. At No. 2 singles, Mark Kahan ’13 also needed three sets to snag the win, eventually upending Tanner Brown 6-0, 4-6, 6-2.
The men’s tennis team opened their fall season at the USTA/ITA New England Regional Tournament last weekend. Hosted by Williams, Regionals is the major tournament of the fall season — a unique experience for players, in that they compete only individually rather than as a team. Adding to the intrigue of the weekend, the tournament represented the first competitive play for the Jeffs since capturing their first-ever NCAA Championship last season.
The men’s tennis team continued to play through its fall schedule last weekend, traveling to Brown Univ. to play the second of a series of tournaments in preparation for the spring season. The nine players who took the trip struggled a bit as a whole against a field of Div. I programs, but there were a few bright spots as well.
The third time was the charm for the men’s tennis team, as the Jeffs captured their first NCAA title with a convincing 5-2 victory over Emory Univ. in the national finals this May after runner-up finishes in both 2009 and 2010.
The win over Emory capped a remarkable, record-breaking season for the Jeffs. Earlier in the spring, Amherst won its first NESCAC title since 1992, going undefeated against conference opponents. The Jeffs completed the season with a 38-1 record, with the only loss coming against No. 2 Claremont during the team’s California spring break trip in March.
