Spring Break
TENNIS: Men's team defeats U.S. Coast Guard Academy
by Julie Ganz
Sports editor
Sports | 10/7/08
Posted online at 4:45 AM EST on 10/7/08
After taking a 5-3 lead in the third set of last Friday's No. 3 singles match against U.S. Coast Guard Academy junior Chris Pappe, men's tennis player Seth Rogers '10 requested to move indoors due to darkness in what would be the match that determined which team emerged victorious.
Before resuming play indoors, Rogers said coach Ben Lamanna emphasized the importance of winning on his serve, especially given the surface of the indoor courts, which lends itself to a faster game. After Pappe held serve to cut the margin to 5-4, Rogers followed suit, serving out the final game to capture the decisive match in the Judges' 5-4 victory.
"We were out there battling for a long time," Rogers said of the match, which was moved inside after nearly four hours.
Rogers was originally going to be playing in the No. 4 singles spot before an injury to Mike Tatarsky '12 prevented him from playing in the No. 3 singles match.
Tatarsky, who teamed up with Steven Nieman '11 at No. 1 doubles, suffered a bruised left knee at the beginning of his doubles match when he ran knee-first into a wall at the side of the court trying to retrieve a high shot. Though Tatarsky stayed in to finish the doubles match, he was unable to play his singles match.
"I was pretty upset about it because I was kind of letting my team down, in a way, because I was supposed to play [No. 3 singles], and everybody else had to move up to make up for my absence," Tatarsky said. "But they pulled through. They all … really played with a lot of heart for the rest of the match."
Rogers and captain Scott Schulman '09 teamed up to win at No. 2 doubles, but with defeats at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, the Judges faced a 2-1 hole for the first time this season.
After Schulman captured a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles to tie the score at two matches apiece, Mayur Kasetty '11 won a straight-set match at No. 6 singles. Yet losses at Nos. 4 and 5 singles put the Judges behind 4-3, which meant that both Nieman and Rogers would have to win their singles matches to secure a Brandeis victory.
Before resuming play indoors, Rogers said coach Ben Lamanna emphasized the importance of winning on his serve, especially given the surface of the indoor courts, which lends itself to a faster game. After Pappe held serve to cut the margin to 5-4, Rogers followed suit, serving out the final game to capture the decisive match in the Judges' 5-4 victory.
"We were out there battling for a long time," Rogers said of the match, which was moved inside after nearly four hours.
Rogers was originally going to be playing in the No. 4 singles spot before an injury to Mike Tatarsky '12 prevented him from playing in the No. 3 singles match.
Tatarsky, who teamed up with Steven Nieman '11 at No. 1 doubles, suffered a bruised left knee at the beginning of his doubles match when he ran knee-first into a wall at the side of the court trying to retrieve a high shot. Though Tatarsky stayed in to finish the doubles match, he was unable to play his singles match.
"I was pretty upset about it because I was kind of letting my team down, in a way, because I was supposed to play [No. 3 singles], and everybody else had to move up to make up for my absence," Tatarsky said. "But they pulled through. They all … really played with a lot of heart for the rest of the match."
Rogers and captain Scott Schulman '09 teamed up to win at No. 2 doubles, but with defeats at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles, the Judges faced a 2-1 hole for the first time this season.
After Schulman captured a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles to tie the score at two matches apiece, Mayur Kasetty '11 won a straight-set match at No. 6 singles. Yet losses at Nos. 4 and 5 singles put the Judges behind 4-3, which meant that both Nieman and Rogers would have to win their singles matches to secure a Brandeis victory.
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