Men’s Tennis Falls to Division II Concordia

By The Fordham Ram on February 12, 2014 • ( 0 )

By JAKE GROGAN
STAFF WRITER

The Rams look to turn their season around against Bucknell on Feb. 15. They currently sit at 1-5 on the season. (THE RAM ARCHIVES)

Early season struggles continue for the Rams, as Fordham’s men’s tennis team fell to nationally ranked Concordia 7-0. The Clippers, who are ranked sixth in the country among division two teams and feature players who sport individual national rankings, won every match in straight sets.

The number one ranked doubles team in the country set the tone early for the Clippers, as Daniele Piludu and Benas Majauskas defeated senior Kuba Kowalski and senior Matty Najfeld 8-2. The momentum continued to build for Concordia as Juuso Ojanen and Pulat Babadjanov, ranked 25th in the country, defeated senior Alastair Barnes and junior Michael Puntillo 8-6. Rafael Ferreira and Ricardo Frey would finish up the doubles competition by defeating junior Peder Gram and sophomore Pedrao Alonzo 8-4.

Singles’ competition on the day featured much of the same, as fourth ranked Ojanen defeated Kowalski 6-1, 6-2 to start things off. Eighteenth ranked Benas Majauskas knocked off Alastair Barnes in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 to secure a point from the third singles spot. Matty Najfeld narrowly missed forcing a third set, as he lost a second set tie breaker 7-2 to fifth ranked Daniele Piludu in the second singles spot.

Najfeld’s performance offers a positive that can be taken out of what was otherwise a negative showing from the Rams. He was responsible for the only point scored in a 1-6 loss to Fairfield University two weeks ago and was retired after going up 3-1 in a third set against NYIT. Almost forcing a third set against the fifth best singles player in all of division two provides strong evidence that Najfeld’s game is improving at an exciting rate.

“Unfortunately I couldn’t hold the performance this weekend, where I still played a very good match but couldn’t close at the important moments,” said Najfeld, when asked about his performance against Concordia. “On the other [hand] the guy from Concordia is also top five in the nation for individual division two players, so I’m disappointed but not completely because he’s a very good player.”

When asked about his impressive play throughout the first three matches of the season, Najfeld stated: “My reason for trying hard and fighting until the last point is that I love being the underdog. I have an extra motivation to prove [to] them that they are wrong and [to] try to beat them. In order to [maintain] my performance I always try to put [myself] in that mindset.”

If Najfeld’s play continues to develop along it’s projected track that underdog mindset will grow increasingly difficult to achieve. He provided one of Fordham’s few bright spots on a bleak afternoon at the Meyers Tennis Center.

The issue is not that the Rams fell to a division two opponent. Few rosters in the country feature Concordia’s talent. The issue is that the Rams did not get momentum going into the rest of their season. Scoring a point or two against the sixth best DII team in the country would provide more to build on than does a 0-7 shutout.

“For the season and the team as a whole, I think [that] we are very close,” said Najfeld, when talking about the slow start to the season. “If we are able to get our injured players back and start fighting on each position we will [earn] some wins for sure. Right now I think the motivation has to improve.”

The Rams plan on getting starter Jan Krouham back from injury within the next few weeks, a huge positive as Fordham moves closer to conference play. His return, along with the great play from Najfeld, has the potential to provide the team with the spark necessary to start winning matches. Momentum will be key as the season progresses with the time between matches dwindling.

The Rams will look to return to winning ways against Bucknell University on Saturday, Feb. 15.