By Tom Terzulli
The Rams rose to the occasion against an undefeated Hofstra team. (Ally White/The Fordham Ram)
The men’s tennis team got the boost they needed on Saturday. The Rams traveled to Long Island as losers of five of their last six contests and were underdogs against the undefeated Hofstra squad. In a hard-fought battle, the once downtrodden Rams edged the Pride 4-3 to hand them their first loss.
The match began with a familiar scene in the doubles game: Fordham failed to capture the point. Junior Tomas Cosmai and sophomore Joseph Kavaloski topped the team of Zachary Chang and Yahn Gawrit 6-3 in the second position, leading to a winner take all third position for the point. Sophomore Cameron Posillico and senior Pedro Alonso folded to Marcus Smith and Leonardo Pires 7-6 (7-1), losing the pivotal set.
Unlike in previous matches, however, the Rams did not let the doubles result bleed over into the singles game, taking four out of six matches. Cosmai failed to provide a hot start in the first position, losing to Smith (7-5, 6-1), but it was Fordham’s penultimate loss in the match. In the second and third positions, freshman Victor Li and Alonso won their matches over Niko Vulinovich and Gawrit, respectively. Gawrit did not finish his contest with Alonso, retiring after losing the first two matches of the first set. Gustav Akesson’s straight sets victory in the fourth position over senior Nick Borak (6-1, 6-3) made it 2-2 going into the final two spots, but Kavaloski broke the tie when he bounced Zachary Chang (6-3, 6-1), going undefeated on the day.
Head Coach Michael Sowter cited Kavaloski’s handwork and proficiency in outdoor play. “Joe continues to work hard in practice and his game is suited to playing outdoors,” he said. “I’m excited to see how he finishes the end of the season.”
With the score at 3-2, Hofstra had a chance to tie in the sixth position, but Poscillico pulled through, getting past Pires (6-4, 7-5) to close out the victory.
This was Fordham’s first match outdoors, and Sowter was pleased with how his team reacted against an undefeated team. “Winning a tight match and handing Hofstra its first loss was a nice confidence boost,” he said. “It was our first match outside so you never know how the guys will compete when they go outdoors, but we played well to fight back and win the match.”
The Rams’ 5-5 record puts them back at .500, while Hofstra drops to 4-1. Fordham has a busy weekend ahead of it. On Saturday morning, the team will take on Drew University in the first match at Fordham’s Hawthorn and Rooney Tennis courts. Next, it will travel to Massachusetts and Connecticut for dates with Holy Cross and Hartford on Sunday.
