The Jeffs won five of the six singles titles, as well as the doubles title. Amherst finished with a team total of 22 points, four points ahead of Lehigh University and nine points ahead of New York University. "The team performed very well," said Max Rettig '05. "We have a very strong lineup this year from top to bottom."
First-year Karti Subramanian and Scott Bronner '06 won the doubles in two sets, 6-0, 6-3. "It was rather a new experience to play doubles, but it went really well," said Subramanian. Scott and I got along well on the court."
Sophomores Josh Rilla, Danny Babkes and Bronner all recorded singles victories for Amherst. Rilla, the Jeffs' No. one singles player, defeated NYU's Mike Thompson in two quick sets, before winning the final match against Lehigh's Ty Esler by a score of 6-2, 6-3.
Babkes played against Lehigh's Ryan Lloyd in the No. three singles final and easily won in two sets, 6-2, 6-1.
At the No. four singles position, Rettig played the final match against Lehigh's Alfredo Fernandez-Concha. Rettig lost the first set quickly (1-6) but bounced back to win in the end, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. "Going into the second and final day of the tournament, we trailed Lehigh by one point," Rettig said. "We knew that we had to win at least three or four of the finals to win the team title, so in my mind, I knew that I had to fight back."
Jon Godsall '06 won the No. five singles championship, beating Lehigh's Brad Nelson in the finals.
Amherst looks to continue its strong start to the season with an upcoming match against the University of Hartford this afternoon.