By NICOLE NORTON
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Fordham men’s tennis team opened its fall season on Saturday, Sept. 14, against the Saint Peter’s Peacocks with a very competitive match. The match began with advantageous doubles play by the Rams, earning them the doubles point. Seniors Kuba Kowalski and Matty Najfeld teamed up for an 8-6 victory over Charlie Carrera and Marko Knezevic. Meanwhile, juniors J.J. Tauil and Max Peara bested Tom Jottrand and Jorge Del Rey Rojas, 9-8 with a 7-2 tie-breaker victory.
In the singles competition, Najfeld followed up his doubles win with an impressive showing at second singles, topping Knezevic 6-3, 6-2. At fifth singles, junior Jan Krouham adeptly defeated Mario Huljev 6-1, 6-0. However, after three singles losses by juniors Michael Puntillo, Peder Gram and J.J. Tauil, the match decision came down to the sixth and final singles match between Gram and Del Rey Rojas. Del Rey Rojas would recover from his double loss with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Gram, thereby solidifying the Peacocks’ 4-3 win over the Rams.
“It was definitely tough to see us lose 3-4 in the last game,” said Fordham head coach Dimitar Brzov. “It was a good wake up call for us. It reminds us that we have to work hard and remain disciplined and focused.”
The Rams have a positive outlook on their upcoming fall schedule and the season as a whole.
“In terms of the record compared to last year, 8-10, coming in on paper we look much stronger which should help us,” Brzov said. “We’re looking forward to a good, winning year.”
Brzov also awaits the return of injured players junior Mischa Koran and redshirt senior Alastair Barnes.
Koran saw this past season interrupted by injury and he is expected to make his return in the spring. Barnes is slated to make his Rams debut this fall after sitting out the 2012-2013 season due to NCAA transfer rules. These two players will certainly add depth to the Rams for the 2013-2014 season.
Next up for Fordham is the USTA College Invitational, held at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens from Sept. 20-22. The Rams will make their home debut on Sept. 28, with a match against New York Tech at 12 p.m.
