Tufts Falls to Men's Tennis, 5-4, in Season Opener

By Tufts University Sports Information

MEDFORD, Mass. - The visiting MIT Engineers took a close 5-4 victory over Tufts University in Greater Boston collegiate men's tennis action on Saturday afternoon. The match, which was played indoors due to rain, featured two tie-breakers in doubles and two three-set competitions in singles.

The Jumbos came out of doubles play with a 2-1 lead. The top pair of junior Jake Fountain and sophomore Kai Victoria won a tie-breaker 9-8 (5). MIT's Matthew Skalak and Tymor Hamamsy did the exact same in the #2 match. The Jumbo #3 duo of sophomore Sam Laber and freshman Ben Barad gave Tufts the edge with an 8-3 victory.

In singles, MIT won four out of six to secure the match. Skalak won the #6 match in three sets 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 against Tufts senior tri-captain Bryan Wilner. Engineer Samuel Harmatz was a 6-4, 7-6 (4) winner over Tufts freshman Andrew Lutz at #4.

For the Jumbos, Victoria won a three-set match at #3 after losing a first-set tie-breaker. Junior Andrew Rosen had the easiest win of the day at #5, 6-2 and 6-1.

The Engineers (1-0) host the Falcons of Bentley University in their next match Wednesday, October 7, at 4 p.m. Tufts (1-1) hits the courts again on Friday, October 16, against the Crimson of Harvard University.

Doubles
1. Jake Fountain/Kai Victoria (Tufts) def. Kevin Pang/Larry Pang (MIT) 9-8(5)
2. Matthew Skalak/Tymor Hamamsy (MIT) def. Morrie Bossen/Andrew Lutz (Tufts) 9-8(5)
3. Sam Laber/Ben Barad (Tufts) def. Andrew Cooper/Brian Oldfield (MIT) 8-3

Singles
1. K. Pang (MIT) def. Laber (Tufts) 6-3, 6-2
2. L. Pang (MIT) def. Fountain (Tufts) 6-2, 6-4
3. Victoria (Tufts) def. Oldfield (MIT) 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4
4. Samuel Harmatz (MIT) def. Lutz (Tufts) 6-4, 7-6(4)
5. Andrew Rosen (Tufts) def. Hamamsy (MIT) 6-2, 6-1
6. Skalak (MIT) def. Bryan Wilner (Tufts) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2