MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Tufts senior co-captain Isaac Gorelik won an epic #1 singles match against Middlebury College's Stan Morris to set the table for a 5-4 Jumbo victory over the Panthers in both teams' spring opener on Saturday.
Ranked #19 nationally in singles after the fall, Gorelik took down the #1-ranked Morris 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (8-10), 6-3 in a marathon match that broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Jumbos a 4-3 advantage. Freshman Derin Acaroglu (pictured) soon after clinched the Jumbos' victory with a straight-set (7-5, 6-2) win against Panther David Vilys in the #5 match for the fifth Jumbo win.
Tufts had got out to a 2-1 lead in doubles. Though they lost the #1 match, the third pair of Gorelik with senior Paris Pentousis won 8-2 to even the team score at 1-1. Acaroglu and senior Niko Hereford then outlasted the Middlebury pair of Robby Ward and Aidan Harris 8-6 to win the middle doubles match.
The Jumbos upped their lead to 3-1 when Rishabh Sharda posted a fast 6-2, 6-1 win against Harris in second singles. However, Middlebury would tie the match at 3-3 with victories by Neel Epstein on the fourth singles court (6-0, 6-2) and by Ward at #6 singles (6-3, 7-5). That's when Gorelik's #1 win swung the match in Tufts' favor.
The final match to finish was fifth singles between Tufts' Vuk Vuksanovic and Middlebury's Zachary Hilty won by the Panther 5-7, 6-2, 10-7.
This was Tufts' first victory against Middlebury College since April 2002. The Jumbos are ranked #12 nationally entering their spring schedule and Middlebury is unranked.
Tufts plays again tomorrow at Williams College in a 2 pm start.
