Rilla and Babkes defeated a pair from Hamilton College 8-6 in the first round on Friday. Then in the quarterfinals they beat defending champions Andrew and Daniel Murray, identical twins from Williams.
"This was a very satisfying win because they are a top-ranked national doubles team, and the last thing they wanted to do was lose to a team from Amherst during their senior year," said Babkes.
Rilla added, "As [Babkes] and I played Williams, our teammates were erupting after every point from the sidelines. Teams actually mentioned how different we seemed, how much more determined." On Saturday, Babkes and Rilla faced a pair from Trinity College in the semifinals and won 8-6 to move on to Sunday's finals against Tufts University.
"Against Tufts, we came back from a 5-1 deficit to win 9-7, and we fought off a match point at 7-6. This was such an emotional win because there is definitely a rivalry of sorts between us and the number one Tufts doubles team," said Babkes.
"[Babkes and Rilla] now have a very good chance at being selected to play in the 16-team national tournament ... They played a very impressive tournament," said co-captain Max Rettig '05.
Jon Godsall '06 advanced to the semifinals in the number six singles bracket. Godsall defeated Brian Tilley of Hamilton 6-2, 6-1 on Friday before earning a victory in the quarterfinals over Greg Little of Bates College in a close three-set win 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Godsall lost to Lex Urban of Williams 0-6, 2-6, the eventual champion, in the semifinals.
"We fought through to the quarterfinals at every position, and ... Godsall showed the strength of our team by beating the number six singles player from Bates, a team that will likely make the NCAA Regional, in a tight, three-set match," said Rettig.
Babkes breezed past Ned Minevitz of Connecticut College 6-0, 6-0 at number-two singles, but withdrew in the quarterfinals because of an ankle injury. "If Danny had remained healthy and didn't have to withdraw from his singles tournament, we could easily have taken third place," said Rettig.
Last Wednesday, the Jeffs lost to MIT, 2-5. Rettig won number four singles, and Godsall won sixth singles.
The other singles matches were close three-set losses. Babkes was defeated at second singles and Jeff Lawrence '07 at number three. Senior co-captain Rob Feeley was defeated at fifth singles in a match that could have gone either way.
Rilla and Arpan Podduturi '05 paired for the sole doubles victory, 8-4, at number two.
While disappointed not to make the postseason, they are pleased with what they accomplished and optimistic for next season. "Hopefully [Babkes] and I will be moving on to nationals for the doubles. It was a great end to the season," said Rilla.
"Even though some of the results didn't go our way and we ended up just short of achieving our goal of making the postseason, we all played hard and fought together as a team," said Rettig.
"After four straight losses leading into the tournament, we couldn't have asked for more," said Rilla.