While the rest of the student body enjoyed fall break, the men made a two-day swing to Rhode Island on Oct. 8 to face Div. III opponents Roger Williams and Salve Regina Universities. Neither team gave the Jeffs much of a match, as Amherst came away with an 8-0 win over Roger Williams and an 6-1 drubbing of Salve Regina on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The Jeffs were perfect against Roger Williams, winning all nine matches in straight sets and dropping only five games along the way. Sophomore Lenny Lepner set the tone with an overpowering 6-1, 6-1 win at first singles. First-years Michael Mintz and Geoff Schwartz won with aplomb at second and third singles, dropping two and one games, respectively. Senior captain Max Rettig, sophomore Jeff Lawrence and first-year Jeffrey Wan rolled past their fourth through sixth singles opponents, who put up goose eggs on the board. The doubles matches continued this trend, as Lepner and Schwartz, Lawrence and Mintz and first-year Tal Avrahami and Wan all won 8-0 at the first through third positions.
The Jeffs put up similar numbers against the Salve Regina Seahawks the next day. The Jeffs reprised their positions on the ladder, and though it took Lepner and Mintz three sets apiece, Amherst again came away with an easy win. Lawrence fell in a hard-fought fifth singles match, but his teammates more than made up for the loss by winning the remainder of their matches.
Amherst concluded its fall season on Oct. 17 against visiting Colby College. The Jeffs made short work of the White Mules, as only Wan's sixth singles match reached the third set. Though one doubles team lost, the other two came through to earn the point for the Jeffs.
"We achieved all of our goals for the fall," said Max Rettig. "And gave ourselves the confidence that we can play with any team in the league and the nation."