By David Balick

Coming off of a dominant victory over Yeshiva University, the Fordham Men’s Tennis team struggled over the past couple of weeks, losing all four of its matches.
The Rams’ first opponent was Saint Joseph’s University, who shut them out, 7-0.
The Rams lost all three of their doubles matches, giving St. Joe’s the early point. Senior Max Peara and Freshman Pol Giraldez battled to keep their set close, but ultimately fell, 8-5.
In the singles matches, Giraldez once again kept the match close. After going down 6-0 in the first, he fought back in the second set, evening the score with a 6-2 victory. However Renier Moolman, St. Joe’s top player, was able to pull out the third set 10-8 to defeat Giraldez.
The day did not go well for the rest of the Rams, as they all fell in straight sets.
The very next day, the men traveled down to Richmond, Virginia to take on the VCU Rams. Unfortunately, Fordham once again failed to register a single win and lost 4-0.
Fordham lost both of the completed doubles matches by a score of 8-2, then lost all three of the completed singles matches in straight sets.
While Fordham may not have gotten the result they were looking for, VCU is a very strong team and improved its record to 14-8 with the victory.
Ten days later, the Rams traveled to Hamden, Connecticut to face off against Quinnipiac University, where they were blanked, 7-0.
In the doubles matches, Freshmen Joey Brander and Harris Durkovic nearly pulled out a victory for the Rams, but ended up losing 8-6. Fordham lost its other two doubles matches 8-5 and 8-2.
In the singles match, the Rams lost all six matches in straight sets. Like VCU, Quinnipiac is another strong opponent that will compete in its conference come the tournament. With the win, Quinnipiac improved to 9-7 on the season.
That very same afternoon, the men traveled back to the state of New York to square off against Hofstra University at Hofstra’s outdoor courts. Fordham got out to an early lead, winning the doubles point. Giraldez and Peara came together and won their match 7-5, and Brander and Durkovic defeated their opponent 6-2.
In the singles matches, Giraldez had the lone victory for the Rams. He had a comeback win over Hostras’s top player, Beau Wills, in three sets. Giraldez lost the first set 4-6, but came right back in the second set, winning 6-2. The third was very close, but Grialdez finally pulled it out, winning 11-9 and securing the victory.
While the Rams were unable to win any of their other matches, both Durkovic and Brander were able to force a third set and nearly missed out on victories.
With the loss, Fordham fell to 3-11 on the season, while Hofstra went to 10-6.
The Rams have one final tuneup on Sunday before the A-10 Championship tournament starts the following week. The result may not be there so far for the Rams, but they are playing under a new coach, and many of the freshman have performed at high level of play, which bodes well for their success in the coming years.