Last week, the Hopkins men’s tennis team won three matches against Bates, Carnegie Mellon and Dickinson. The wins put the Jays at 6-2 to start the season, which has led them to be ranked fifth in the NCAA. The Blue Jays also picked up their first win in the Centennial Conference with the victory over the Red Devils.
Hopkins jumped to an early 2-0 lead against the Bates Bulldogs to begin doubles, with an 8-2 win from juniors Tanner Brown and Erik Lim and an 8-3 win from sophomore Nicholas Garcia and junior Noah Joachim. The Bulldogs were able to narrowly defeat freshmen Michael Buxbaum and Emerson Walsh 8-6, before moving into singles. The victory would be their only one in the match.
Buxbaum opened the singles by winning 6-3 and 6-1 in consecutive sets to take the match with ease. After dropping the first set 6-4, junior Ben Hwang came from behind to win his match with a stellar comeback. sealing victories of 6-4 and 10-5 to defeat his opponent and notch a critical point for the Blue Jays. Brown continued his dominance on the day as he won his match in straight sets 6-4 and 6-2 to give the Blue Jays another point. Meanwhile, freshman Jeremy Dublin won his match through a pair of 6-4 victories. Garcia swept his opponent in decisive fashion, winning the games by scores of 6-2 and 6-0. Finally, Lim closed out singles play by defeating his fellow Bobcat opponent 6-3 and 6-4 to sweep the singles matches for the Blue Jays. At the end of the match, the final score favored Hopkins, 8-1.
However, the Jays did not have a lot of time to dwell on their recent victory. In their next matchup, the Jays toppled the Carnegie Mellon Tartans by a score of 6-3. In the singles matches, Buxbaum (6-1, 6-4), Brown (6-2, 6,2), Dubin (6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 7-1), and Lim (6-2, 7-5) all contributed wins for the Blue Jays, as Hopkins took four of six in the singles matches. Garcia and Hwang both fought admirably in their matches, but eventually fell short in their matches, giving the Tartans two points to cut the Blue Jay lead in half.
In the doubles draw, Lim and Brown kept their winning ways alive as they trounced their opponents 8-4 at first doubles. Garcia and Joachim also continued their winning streak at third doubles, securing an 8-6 victory and the match for the Jays. However, Buxbaum and Walsh struggled in their matchup at second doubles, falling 8-1.
As if one match wasn't enough for the team on Saturday, the Jays also competed against Centennial Conference foe Dickinson, opening their conference slate with an 8-1 victory. In the singles bracket, freshman Jeffery Mackenzie (6-2, 7-5), junior Edward Corty (6-3, 6-4), senior Jeremy Schwartz (6-2, 6-0), sophomore Nathan Law (6-4, 6-3) and senior Joonas Karjalainen (6-2, 7-5) were all triumphant as the Blue Jays claimed five of six in the singles bracket. Senior German Gonzalez (6-2, 4-6, 4-0) dropped his singles match in a hard fought three set battle.
The Jays were undefeated in the doubles, with Corty and Mackenzie winning 8-2, Schwartz and Gonzalez coming out on top 9-7 and Law and Karjalainen dominating 8-1. The Jays finished the weekend in excellent fashion, sweeping all three of their matches while claiming their first conference victory against a formidable Dickinson team.
The Jays next face Swarthmore on March 29 at 12 p.m. at home, as they look to keep their successful hot streak alive against another conference opponent. The matchup against the Garnet will be the first time the two teams have met since the Jays topped Swarthmore in the Centennial Conference semifinals last season before eventually claiming their seventh consecutive conference title. With this in mind, the Jays will look to come out strong and agile as they battle for another big victory against the Garnet.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.