CLAREMONT, CA (March 24, 2023) -- The No. 5 Tufts University men's tennis team continued its best start in program history on Friday evening, knocking off No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 7-2 in a rematch of the rematch of the NCAA Quarterfinals from a season ago where the Jumbos won 5-3.
The story was Tufts' (8-0) play in single competition, as the Jumbos won all six decisions after dropping two of the three doubles matches to start the matches. Each doubles match went to a tie-break Friday, showing the evenly matched squads competing on the courts.
CMS (7-3) took a 1-0 lead at the No. 2 spot, but
Vuk Vuksanovic and
Derin Acaroglu rallied at the top position for a 8-7 (6) win at No. 1. The Stags would get another tight win at No. 3 doubles, posting a 7-3 decision in the tie break to earn an 8-7 win.
Once the Jumbos got into singles, Vuksanovic was able to earn a straight set victory over Matthew Robinson, 6-2, 6-3. Robinson came in ranked at No. 38 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The win by Vuksanovic tied the match at two wins apiece.
Tufts took its first lead of the match at No. 5 singles, as
Javier Gonzalez won his fifth in a row with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Warren Pham. The bottom of the lineup continued to excel for Tufts, as
Josh Belandres won his match at No.6 singles, topping Daniel Blackman 7-5, 6-3 to make the team score 4-2.
The clinching victory came at No. 4 singles for the second straight day, as Acaroglu outlasted Christian Settles in three sets with scores of 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Acaroglu is now 6-0 in singles this spring.
Tufts didn't take its foot off the gas though, as
Rishabh Sharda earned maybe the most impressive win as he came from behind to defeat ITA national No. 1 player Advik Mareedu 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 for his signature win.
Another exciting match came at No. 3 singles, as Ganchev was able to top Ian Freer 6-4, 7-6 (6) for his fifth straight singles victory of the spring season. With the win, Tufts stayed undefeated and is off to its best start in program history.
Tufts will look to continue its hot start, heading to Amherst College Saturday, April 1 at 10 a.m. for New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play in Amherst, MA.
--JUMBOS--
