MEDFORD, MA (April 25, 2023) -- The Tufts University men's tennis team has its sights set on the 2023 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships this weekend, hosted at Williams College.
Championship Details:
2023 NESCAC Men's Tennis Championships
Dates: Friday, April 28 - Sunday, April 30
Location: Williamstown, MA – Torrence M. Hunt'44 Tournament Courts (Directions)
Coverage: TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
The Jumbos come into this weekend with a perfect 19-0 record and 10-0 NESCAC record on the year. Tufts enters the NESCAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will take on No. 8 seed Wesleyan College at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 28. Tufts is the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history and became the first program ever to post a perfect 10-0 mark in the NESCAC.
In the most recent ITA rankings, Tufts was ranked as No. 2 with Wesleyan being ranked lower at No. 27. In the regular season finale last weekend on April 22, the Jumbos defeated the Cardinals 8-1 on March 12 in Medford. In that match, Tufts won six of seven singles matches along with sweeping the doubles matches. Tufts is 0-1 in the NESCAC Tournament against Wesleyan with the two teams only meeting coming in the 2016 NESCAC semifinals.
The Jumbos have a deep and talented roster that will have the ability to make a deep run in the NESCAC Tournament. The depth of the team is showcased by their winning percentage of over .700 at the No. 3 through No. 6 positions this season including a 17-1 record at the No. 3 position. Derin Acaroglu leads the way for the Jumbos as he has a perfect 12-0 record this season, going 9-0 at the No. 4 position. Right behind him is Alex Ganchev with an 11-2 record and is 5-1 against NESCAC opponents along with going 9-1 at the No. 3 position.
Senior Rishabh Sharda has battled from the No. 1 position all season and has an 8-5 record there as he has a 10-5 record overall and 6-2 record in NESCAC matches. Josh Belandres makes four Jumbos who has double digit singles win this season as he is 10-3 and has a 5-1 record at the No. 6 position.
Javier Gonzalez has made a strong impression his first year on campus at the no. 5 position as he has a 6-1 record there and an overall record of 9-4. Vuk Vuksanovic has been solid at No. 2 all season as he won four of his last five matches.
On the doubles side, Tufts has been dominant at all doubles positions as they have an over .750 winning percentage. Acaroglu and Vuksanovic have teamed up to form the No. 1 doubles team and have an 11-4 record along with a 5-1 conference record. Belandres and Sharda have formed the No. 2 doubles team and are 8-1 in conference play with an 11-2 record at No. 2 and 14-2 overall. Jack Moldenhauer and Ganchev have been solid all season at No. 3 as they have accumulated at 10-3 record at No. 3 with a 7-0 NESCAC record and are 13-3 overall.
The first-round opponent for the Jumbos, Wesleyan College, is the eighth seed for the first time in program history. They reached the semifinal round in four straight semifinal tournaments from 2016 to 2019. The Cardinals have a 7-9 overall record and 3-7 NESCAC record.
In other NESCAC Tournament action, the No. 2 seed Bowdoin College will take on No. 7 seed Bates College at Middlebury College at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. The No. 3 seed Williams College will be at home for their NESCAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup with the No. 6 seed Amherst. That match will start at 1:00 p.m. The No.4 seed Middlebury will also be at home for their NESCAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 seed Colby College at 4:30 p.m.
The semifinals and finals for the NESCAC Tournament will take place at Williams College on Saturday April 29th as the winner in the Tufts/Wesleyan match will take on the winner between Middlebury/Colby at 1:00 p.m. The other semifinal match will start at 1:00 p.m. as well and will feature the winner of Bowdoin/Bates taking on the winner of Williams/Amherst. The finals are set for Sunday April 30 at 1:00 p.m.
--JUMBOS--
