Feb. 10, 2012
Final Stats
Newark, N.J. -
After dropping the doubles point to NJIT, the Fordham men's tennis squad knew they would have to battle back in singles play to win the match. And the Rams did, taking four of the six singles matches en route to a 4-3 win over the Highlander at the Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreational Facility.
"Our guys showed tremendous heart and desire tonight after losing the doubles point, our guys didn't let it affect them and they came out in singles ready to go the distance," said head coach Cory Hubbard. "I have been talking all week in practice about dealing with pressure situations and playing to win, which Kuba and Mischa did in the third sets. It's funny because I have been stressing to the guys all week, we are going to start to have these 4-3 matches that will be a test of will. Our previous seven matches have not been close, and since we are such a young team I was worried about what would happen the first time we got into one of the tight matches coming down to the last guys on court. In practice we did some pressure points with everyone watching, to get the new guys a feeling for what it would be like if the deciding match came down to them and it paid off."
Fordham dropped the double competition by a 2-1 score as Fordham's Kuba Kowalski and Mischa Koran won at the first position over Petr Rousar and Victor Martinez, 8-5, but Srikar Alla and J.J. Tauil fell at second doubles to Holger Norregaard and Ike Kiro, 8-5, and Peder Gram and Eli Plangger lost the third spot to Jaoa Tasca and Bryan Keelan, 8-0.
Alla got the Rams on the board with a straight set win over Rousar at second singles, 6-3, 6-3, and Tauil took care of things at the fourth position, defeating Kiro, 7-6 (3), 6-3, as the Rams took a 2-1 lead.
But losses at fifth and sixth singles put Fordham in a 3-2 hole before Kowalski won at first singles over Norregaard, dropping the first set, 6-3, but coming back to take the second (6-4) and third (6-1).
The match came down to the third singles competition. Koran won the first set, 7-5, over Martinez but the lost the second by the same score to force a third and deciding set. In the third set, Koran suffered a badly sprained ankle in the first game and had to get an injury timeout for trainer to come tape him up. But he fought through the injury and pulled out a 6-3 win to give the Rams the match.
"This was a total team effort, as our seniors and other guys really made a difference with their energy and support," continued Hubbard. "Even though they weren't playing, they had a presence and really helped push Mischa and JJ in the end. Mischa displayed what this team and program is all about, heart and mind - he was seriously injured and could barely walk early in the third set and had to get the trainer to tape him up. Even though he was only about 40-50% and couldn't move, his heart and mind carried him to play some of the best tennis I have ever seen in such a pressure situation. He came up with two of the best volleys in the final game to close out the match, which shows the courage and will to win. I haven't been more proud of any team I have coached anywhere, than of the guys tonight."
The Rams return to action on Sunday, February 12th, as they travel to Ithaca, N.Y., to face the Cornell University Big Red, ranked 50th in the NCAA, at 5:00 p.m.
"Now we set up a huge opportunity for our program against a nationally ranked Cornell team on Sunday, and with a victory could earn the program's first ever national ranking," said Hubbard.
