By JAKE GROGAN
STAFF WRITER

The Fordham Rams will go into their match-up against Saint Louis, their first match of conference play, coming off of a 4-0 loss to the Binghamton Bearcats on March 8.

The loss was of an odd nature for the Rams, as they were missing top singles player Kuba Kowalski due to injury. Also, their top three singles match-ups, two of which the Rams were winning, went unfinished.

The Bearcats started by defeating the scrambled Fordham doubles teams 8-6, 8-4, 8-5 to take the doubles point.

The loss of Kowalski forced the men to mix up the doubles teams, throwing any chemistry advantage that Fordham had out the window. Binghamton went on to take three singles points from the four through six spot, securing a victory before half of the singles matches had concluded.

Given this, Matty Najfeld and Alastair Barnes appeared to be headed towards victory in the first and second spots, while J.J. Tauil had momentum in a tied second set, indicating that the 4-0 shutout was not as bad as it seemed.

“As we were missing our number one [player], we had to adjust the doubles, where I thought we could do a better job,” said Najfeld, when asked about the Binghamton match. “In the meantime, I was winning at first [singles], Alistair was winning at the second position and J.J. had the momentum in the second set.”

Najfeld also addressed the upcoming match against Saint Louis, saying, “As far as the match tomorrow is concerned, I think we will still be missing our number one while some others will have to fight through injuries, so I think it will be a [difficult] match.”

Saint Louis will go into the match against Fordham with a 4-5 record, coming off of a 7-0 victory over Lindenwood-Belleville.

Although the Rams will likely be without Kowalski, disrupting the team’s chemistry at the start of conference play is not ideal. It will mean that the bottom half of the singles line-up, currently composed of senior Mischa Koran, junior Max Peara and sophomore Pedro Alonzo, will have to step up and score some points for Fordham to have a shot at winning.