By JAKE GROGAN
STAFF WRITER
The men’s tennis team entered Saturday’s match hoping to earn its first win of the spring season in its second attempt against a NYIT team, after losing to them 3-4 back in September. Unfortunately, the battle of the boroughs resulted not in fulfillment, but rather in disappointment, as Fordham lost 2-5 at the Bethpage Courts.
The Rams’ two points came from the second and fourth singles spots, as Matty Najfeld defeated Nico Auruccio 6-2, 7-5 and Mischa Koran defeated Rafat Charkiewicz 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Alastair Barnes won his first set 7-5 at the third singles spot before dropping the final two sets 5-7 and 2-6. J.J. Tauil also had a close match at the fifth singles spot, dropping his first set 5-7 before forcing a tie break in the second set, which he lost 7-4. Kuba Kowalski fell to Julio Polido, who posted a 10-1 singles record last season, 1-6, 2-6 at the first singles spot.
While Fordham’s doubles teams failed to score a point on Saturday, all three pairings played exceptionally well and dropped very close sets. The first doubles team, which composed of Kuba Kowalski and Matty Najfeld, fell 6-8. Second and third doubles both fell by a set score of 5-8.
The Rams will take on Concordia in Bronxville on Saturday, Feb. 8, weather permitting. If Fordham does end up playing the match, it will likely enter coming off of a diminished practice week.
“The current snow storm has kept us off of the courts today,” said Michael Puntillo, when asked on Monday about how the team will prepare for Concordia. “That might be a setback depending on the rest of the week.”
The forecast calls for bad weather on Wednesday, which could affect court conditions for the remainder of the week.
Puntillo continued by addressing the doubles situation, saying: “We’re focusing on building better court awareness in doubles, which are developed by practicing fast paced drills. The less time you have to react, the more important it is to be in position.”
Fordham’s doubles teams have been solid so far this year, scoring the team’s only point against Fairfield and coming within a combined five games of sweeping NYIT. Strengthening the doubles game stands to help the singles game, as it will likely result in a three point responsibility from the singles round rather than a four point responsibility. The veteran’s chemistry, along with the commitment to getting better, will result in a significant doubles threat come conference play.
The Concordia Clippers are currently ranked sixth in Division II and will open their season against the Rams. They made it to the NCAA Semifinals last year before losing to top ranked Barry University. Facing Fordham, a Division I team, is unlikely to faze the Clippers, so the Rams will have to rely on more than early set jitters from Concordia. The matchup should provide a good test for the Rams, who are still trying to improve before the start of conference play.
