By David Balick

On Thursday April 23, men’s tennis finished its season with a 4-0 loss to George Mason at the Atlantic-10 Championship.
With the loss, Fordham’s final record on the first season under new head coach Micahel Sowter was 3-13.
In the match, Fordham lost both of the finished doubles matches. Freshman Joey Brander and Senior J.J. Tauil fell in their matches 8-3 while Junior Pedro Alonzo and Freshman Joseph Kavaloski lost 8-1.
Doubles had been a strong area for the Rams in their fall season. However, they struggled to find a winning format for doubles in the spring. Coach Sowter tried mixing partners around, but they never quite found mashup they were looking for.
The Rams and the Patriots only completed two singles matches. Senior Max Peara lost his match 6-3, 6-3 and Brander fell in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0.
Mason did, however, win one other match, in which Tauil retired early in the second set. Geroge Mason then went on to defeated No. 3 Davidson in the quarterfinals, but fell to No. 2 seeded VCU in the semifinals.
For both Tauil and Peara, this match marked the end of their tenures with the Rams. They have been through a long ride at Fordham, having had three coaches in four seasons, but they both had some very bright moments as well.
While this may not have been the season the Rams were hoping to have, they still have many things to build on.
They were starting as many as four freshmen at times this season in their lineup. All of whom were gaining valuable experience.
Furthermore, freshman Pol Giraldez quickly emerged as Fordham’s No.1 player during the season, and will look to build on this strong first campaign in years to come.
Lastly, this was Coach Sowter’s first year as the head coach. Next year he will be able to bring in his own recruits and get a full year with the rest of the players on the team.
While this season may not have been ideal, there is plenty to come going forward from men’s tennis.