By David Balick
Fordham men’s tennis met a strong opponent in Davidson College, and was unable to rise to the occasion. The Rams lost all four of their finished matches against the Wildcats, dropping their record to 2-5.
The Rams battled hard and kept many of the matches close, but the strength and condition of their counterparts was just too much on this day.
“Davidson is a strong team, so I wouldn’t necessarily say anything went ‘wrong’,” said new head coach Mike Sowter, “we just need to work on closing out sets and staying tough from start to finish.”
The teams did not play any of the usual doubles matches, which may have hindered Fordham’s success, as players usually perform well in those competitions.
Instead, the teams finished just four matches, with all four of those going to the Wildcats in straight sets.
Senior J.J Tauil, playing in the number one seed for Fordham, lost to Davidson’s Shamael Chaudhry 6-0, 6-1.
Senior Max Peara battled to keep it close in his first set, but fell 6-4. He then went on to fall in the second set, 6-2.
Similarly, freshman Pol Giraldez, the three seed, was in contention and even winning at a time in his first set, but he too would go onto lose 7-5. From that point on, he was not able to get back in it, and lost the second set 6-3
Junior Pedro Alonzo kept both of his sets competitive and had victory within reach at a couple of points, but the end result was a 6-3, 6-4 loss in straight sets“Max and Pol were both leading in the first set of their matches and Pedro had chances to even his second set so we had chances, we just need to capitalize on those opportunities,” Sowter said.
Freshmen Joey Brander and Jospeh Kavaloski each started matches against Davidson, but neither of these matches were officially completed.
With the win, Davidson improved its record to 3-3 on the season. The teams looks to be a strong contender in the A-10 this year.
“It was a good eye opener for the team to see this type of competition and get a better grasp of what we need to improve,” added coach Sowter.
Fordham will face off next against Concordia College this Saturday, Feb. 21, in Bronxville, NY.
