Last spring the men made a brief run in the NCAA tournament, but it was much shorter than they would have liked. The men beat Swarthmore College 5-2 in the NCAA regionals, but in the regional finals the men were shut out 5-0 by MIT. The Jeffs finished last spring 5-3, with a third place showing in the NESCAC tournament.
In the fall the Jeffs finished 4-1. In the most important tournament of the fall, the Jeffs took home the ECAC title. On top of the team title, the Jeffs also captured three individual titles. Bryan Wexler '02 captured the first singles flight, Brian Chin '03 took the second singles and Rob Feeley '03 took home the title in the fifth flight.
"The outlook is very positive," said Wexler. "We have been practicing for a month now, and we have a lot of confidence. Our fall season was good, and it gives us a good base to start from."
The Jeffs' lineup this spring is younger than in years past-there are no seniors in the top six. Wexler will be the top singles player for the Jeffs. Behind him will be Chin, Adam Leibsohn '03, Dave Wellner '02, Andy Tsai '03 and Feeley.
While the Jeffs return many key players, they will be without Reeve Segal '01, who played first singles last year and was slated to be the team captain this spring. Segal will not return to the team for personal reasons.
"It hurts a little to lose Reeve," said Wexler. "He is a great player and his personality will surely be missed."
The Jeffs are helmed by Peter Robson. Robson is in his 13th season as head coach for the Jeffs, and during his tenure he has seen the Jeffs become a national tennis power.
The men will start their season with a trip to Orlando, Fla., over spring break, a trip that they have not made in the past. The Jeffs will play four matches while in the Sunshine State.
After the spring break trip, the Jeffs face a barrage of NESCAC opponents. First on the slate for the Jeffs is Tufts University, but it is the matches with Wesleyan University and Williams College that stand out in the players' minds.
Last year the Jeffs trampled the Cardinals, winning by a 7-0 shutout, but Williams took a 6-1 win over Amherst-winning the Little three title in the process.
"Obviously the Williams match will be big," said Wexler. "We haven't beaten them in a few years, and we want to turn the tables on them this year."
As usual, the Jeffs expect big things out of the season. "We pretty much expect to go to the regionals every year," said Peter Ransmeier '02. "Adding Bates and Bowdoin makes our schedule tougher, but I think that we are up to the challenge."