By Dylan Balsamo

Fordham Men’s Tennis has been a good, if not very good team all season. They have a strong team core with a load of underclassmen to keep the program going strong. However, in the grand scheme of things, they have had one enormous Achilles heel all year: keeping their momentum going.

This weekend, the squad was in Florida for the Atlantic 10 Championship. This was the postseason, where there is no room for error in terms of a team staying on their game.

First came a Thursday matchup with Saint Louis, a meeting that was a pretty good overall telling of most of Fordham’s season: dominant. First, junior Finn Kemper and sophomore Max Green won 6-2 over Saint Louis’ Oscar Pachon and Ignacio Tintore. Then sophomores Alex Makatsaria and Lutwin de Macar earned a 6-2 victory against opponents John Paul McKenzie and Pavel Badaiants, securing the doubles point for the Rams.

Saint Louis did not stand much of a chance in singles either, as the Rams made quick work of them. De Macar defeated Badaiants 6-4, 6-0, while Makatsaria made quick work of Tintore 6-1, 6-1 and freshman Jofre Segarra took down McKenzie 6-2, 6-2. With those wins, Fordham had secured their fourth point, meaning Kemper, Green and junior Fabian Hansch Mauritzson’s matches did not need to be finished. Fordham shutout Saint Louis 4-0.

With the win, Fordham came into their Friday matchup feeling auspicious, and for good reason. However, the next day saw the other side of the 2018-19 Rams: a team that knew how to win but really struggled stringing wins together. The opponent was Richmond, and the outcome was not as great as the day before.

Fordham dropping the doubles point barely ever happens, but Richmond had their number on Friday. Kemper and Green won their bout against George Lovitt and John Walsh 6-4, but Makatsaria and de Macar’s loss to Campbell Erwin and Klein Evans 7-5 and Mauritzon and Allen Thornes’ loss to Matthew Fernandez and Joshua Keitelman 6-3 put Fordham down early, a place they were not incredibly familiar with finding success from.

Singles saw a similar fate for the Rams. Kemper lost to Walsh 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, Makatsaria was defeated by Erwin 6-4, 6-4 and Segarra dropped his match with Joseph Nardini 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. Maurtizson had defeated Fernandez 7(7)-6(4), 6-2, but it was too late. Green and de Macar’s matches were unfinished.

With a final of 4-1, Richmond had defeated Fordham, eliminating the Rams from the tournament and effectively ending their season.

After the matter, Kemper made it clear that the team looks at the weekend in a positive light and a sign of talent that can be built upon. “Overall, the tournament has been a great success,” he said. “Advancing to the second round for the first time in years is amazing. Obviously, it is always tough to lose, especially when a game is that close, but Richmond was a great team. I am confident that we will come back stronger next year and go even further in the tournament.”

Come time for the fall, Fordham will return to the court and will be aiming to build upon the foundation the program has built from this season.