M. tennis sweeps weekend, cruises past non-Ivy teams

Maybe playing blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs would have made the weekend a little more exciting for the men's tennis players. The Tigers needed just a partial state of consciousness to glide by three non-conference teams in two days, dropping just four match points.

"We were expected to win, but anything can happen," freshman Andrew Lieu said.

Lieu's forecast proved overly modest when the Tigers opened Friday morning by sweeping St. Joseph's, 6-1. Senior captain Trevor Smith and sophomore Josh Burman helped the team to an early start with an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles, followed by Smith's straight-set victory at No. 1 singles (6-0, 6-3) and Burman's win at the No. 2 singles position (5-7, 6-4, 1-0).

Fresh faces

Anticipating that Stony Brook would not be any better, head coach Glenn Michibata allowed the starting lineup to take a rest. Smith welcomed an opportunity for the younger players to compete.

"Getting matches is what everyone needs," Smith said. "It was a great experience for all of us to play."

Lack of experience seemed apparent at the start of the match as newly-matched pairs competed for the doubles point. Freshman Darius Craton and sophomore Daniel Friedman fell 3-8 at first doubles, while Lieu and freshman Hans Plukas lost 6-8 at the second doubles position. Only the third doubles team of junior Tim Fuzesi and freshman Shannon Morales pulled out an 8-4 win, but that was not enough to win the doubles point.

Perhaps a warmup was all the fresh-faced players needed to step up their games. Craton won easily 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles slot, while No. 2 Plukas also made up for a doubles loss with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 singles victory. Friedman, Lieu and sophomore Blaise Goswami held their own with straight-set wins. Morales fought at the number five singles position in a tough three-setter, but finally lost 4-6, 6-4, 3-1 when the match was stopped after an overall team win had already been decided.

"I was a little nervous playing my first match, but I played better and better throughout the weekend," Morales said.

Lieu also had reason to be anxious playing as high as No. 4 against all three opponents this weekend. Lieu found helpful inspiration to play his best from Coach Glenn Michibata.

"Coach always tells us it's a process and to try not to think about results," Lieu said.

Forgetting about results did seem to improve them, as Lieu won easily against St. Joseph, 6-1, 6-0, and 6-2, 6-1 against Stony Brook.

Confident play

"This week was a product of my training," Lieu said. "I played well. I played confident."

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Lieu's confidence carried over to Saturday's faceoff against George Washington University. At No. 5 singles, Lieu gained a quick 6-2, 6-1 win to help the team towards an overall 6-1 victory.

Doubles teams picked up the slack from the day before, getting the momentum going by winning all three matches. Veteran players Smith and Burman gave a particularly exciting performance, pulling out a 9-8 win at No. 1 doubles against the fourth-ranked doubles team in the nation.

"We got a little lucky at the beginning and just kept that up. We surprised ourselves by playing pretty well," Smith said.

Smith did not get lucky in singles, though, losing in a three-setter in the No. 1 position (4-6, 6-3, 6-2). But Smith's loss did not add much of a dent to the Tigers' scoreboard. His doubles teammate, Burman, graced through his singles match 6-0, 7-5. The other freshmen carried equally strong weight with Craton winning (3-6, 6-3, 6-3) and Morales taking No. 6 singles 6-4, 6-4. Friedman fought his way back from a first set loss to win at No. 4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

What lies ahead for the Tigers is another doubleheader that will take place this weekend against the US Military Academy and Temple on Saturday, March 1. Hopefully the upcoming competition will not be another circumstance that risks lulling the Tigers to sleep.