Spring Break
Tennis: Injuries hamper Judges at UAA tourney
by Mike Prada
Editor in Chief
Sports | 5/2/06
Posted online at 2:47 AM EST on 5/2/06
/ Last updated at 12:48 PM EST on 5/2/06
Taking the court without several key players, the men's and women's tennis teams limped to eighth and seventh place respectively finishes in the season-ending University Athletic Association tournament from April 21-23 in Atlanta. Emory University won both competitions for the 16th consecutive season. The men's team finished the spring season with an 8-12 record, while the women finished 6-10.
Injuries and absences forced both teams to make lineup changes. The men's team competed without No. 2 singles player Mike Vulfovich '07 and No. 3 singles player Chris Hersel '06, who were sidelined with shoulder injuries. The seventh-seeded Judges struggled without them, losing to Washington University in St. Louis 7-0 in the tournament opener April 21. The team also lost in the consolation rounds to the University of Chicago 4-1 April 22 and to Case Western Reserve University 4-1 on April 23.
"Depth needed to be one of our strongest attributes this season, and it really hasn't been," coach Ben Lamanna said. "That's why we finished last in UAAs."
The Judges struggled mightily in their match against WashU , the No. 8 team in Division III. After losing the doubles point, the team won only one set in the six singles matches.
At No. 1 singles, Sam Jonas '07 won only one game against WashU senior Ari Rosenthal, losing the match 6-1, 6-0.
"He jumped all over my weak serves and didn't give me any real room to breathe," Jonas said. "He kept too much pressure on me the entire match."
The Judges didn't fare much better against the University of Chicago. Jonas provided the lone spark for the team, defeating Maroons senior Ward Bortz, the No. 21 player in Division III, 7-5, 6-3. Jonas allowed Bortz to pull even at 5-5 in the first set, but he broke Bortz's serve in the very next game to take control of the first set and of the match.
"I played a really steady match and just wore him down," Jonas said. "By the end of the match, he could barely stand up."
Injuries and absences forced both teams to make lineup changes. The men's team competed without No. 2 singles player Mike Vulfovich '07 and No. 3 singles player Chris Hersel '06, who were sidelined with shoulder injuries. The seventh-seeded Judges struggled without them, losing to Washington University in St. Louis 7-0 in the tournament opener April 21. The team also lost in the consolation rounds to the University of Chicago 4-1 April 22 and to Case Western Reserve University 4-1 on April 23.
"Depth needed to be one of our strongest attributes this season, and it really hasn't been," coach Ben Lamanna said. "That's why we finished last in UAAs."
The Judges struggled mightily in their match against WashU , the No. 8 team in Division III. After losing the doubles point, the team won only one set in the six singles matches.
At No. 1 singles, Sam Jonas '07 won only one game against WashU senior Ari Rosenthal, losing the match 6-1, 6-0.
"He jumped all over my weak serves and didn't give me any real room to breathe," Jonas said. "He kept too much pressure on me the entire match."
The Judges didn't fare much better against the University of Chicago. Jonas provided the lone spark for the team, defeating Maroons senior Ward Bortz, the No. 21 player in Division III, 7-5, 6-3. Jonas allowed Bortz to pull even at 5-5 in the first set, but he broke Bortz's serve in the very next game to take control of the first set and of the match.
"I played a really steady match and just wore him down," Jonas said. "By the end of the match, he could barely stand up."
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