When the men's tennis team took to the courts over the weekend, the Bears were fighting for more than just match wins and rankings. They were competing to honor the memory of Margaux Powers, a longtime friend and supporter of Brown tennis, who was killed in May at the age of 26. According to Head Coach Jay Harris, Powers, daughter of Michael Powers '73, could always be seen cheering on the team at home and away matches and always participated in the men's tennis alumni events.
Harris said that in addition to hosting the Bruno Classic in her honor, the team will also plant a tree dedicated to her in the spring and will begin awarding an annual team spirit award in her name.
The tournament included players from Yale, Binghamton University and Boston College. Georgetown University was also slated to compete but withdrew due to a norovirus outbreak at the school.
With captains Chris Lee '09 and Basu Ratnam '09 out indefinitely due to injuries, it was up to the underclassmen to step up to fill the voids, and they proved themselves ready to handle the pressure, as the Bears went 16-4 against Yale, 3-1 against Boston College and 9-3 against Binghamton over the course of the weekend.
"It was so much fun finally competing as a team and being a part of Bruno tennis," Jimmy Crystal '12 said. "As a team we did really well."
The Bears hit the mark right from the start, opening the tournament Friday with five wins over Yale and four victories over Binghamton. Jonathan Pearlman '11 and Charlie Posner '11 defeated the Bulldogs' Calvin Bennett and Connor Dawson 8-5, while Crystal and Andrew Yazmer '12 breezed by Erik Blumenkrantz and Ryan Berman 8-2. Bennett and Berman later fell to the Bears in singles play as well, with Skate Gorham '10 taking a 7-5, 6-4 win over Bennett and Posner outlasting Berman 7-5, 7-6 (5). Captain Sam Garland '09 added to the Bears' pile of victories by trouncing Tom Santoro 6-2, 6-2.
The underclassmen continued their winning streak in singles action against Binghamton. Pearlman prevailed over Sven Vloedgraven for a 6-1, 3-6, 10-5 win, while Yazmer trounced Andreas Danielsson 6-2, 6-2 and Crystal dismantled Jay Bartishevich by a score of 6-1, 6-0.
The Bears matched that success against the Bearcats in doubles play, where they won one of two matches on Friday and three of four matches on Saturday. Kendrick Au '11 had two victories over the duo of Danielsson and Evan Algier, crushing them 8-1 with Gorham as his partner, and earning another win, 8-4, when he teamed up with Gardner. Gorham and Garland defeated Vloedgraven and Arnav Jain in a close 9-7 match, and Crystal and Yazmer contributed an 8-1 win over Bartishevich and Ted Chakos.
On Saturday, the Bears also continued their dominance - this time against Yale. Pearlman outlasted Bennett 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (8), while Gorham, Yazmer, Au and Posner blew by their opponents in straight sets. Gorham defeated Dawson 6-3, 6-4, Yazmer defeated Josh Lederman 6-2, 6-4, Au defeated Santoro 6-0, 6-4 and Posner defeated Matt Schimmel 7-6 (3), 6-3.
The Bears were equally unstoppable in doubles play. Gorman and Au earned an 8-6 victory over Joel Samaha and Dawson, while Posner and Crystal edged out Jordan Abergel and Schimmel 9-8 (6). Pearlman and Yazmer rounded out the doubles success with an 8-5 win over Berman and Santoro.
Harris was pleased with the Bears' performance Saturday against the Bulldogs, noting that the team "won an impressive 10 of 12 matches against Yale."
Brown's collection of victories grew the following day, as the Bears notched three more doubles wins, this time against BC. The pairings of Gorham and Posner, Pearlman and Posner and Garland and Gardner all triumphed over their opponents by identical scores of 8-4.
"Everyone worked really hard and played really well," said Lee, who spent the day supporting his teammates.
In singles play against the Bulldogs, Pearlman had a 6-3 victory over Samaha, and Au defeated Berman 7-6, closing out the match with an ace.
While their teammates took on Yale, the freshmen were busy trouncing Binghamton. Yazmer routed Gilbert Wong 6-2, and Crystal demolished Danielsson 6-0.
Overall, the freshmen made a strong showing at the tournament, with Yazmer going 6-0 and Crystal going 6-1.
"The underclassmen stepped up," Assistant Coach Nestor Bernabe wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
Crystal, meanwhile, was likewise impressed by his teammates' performances. "Everyone else did equally well, so as a team we played great," he said.
The Bruno Classic marked the first time this season that the freshmen and seniors have competed at the same tournament, and Crystal said that he enjoyed the experience. "My teammates are great," he said. "I am looking forward to an exciting season with them."
Brown's next competition is an important one - the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Championships, beginning Oct. 16 in New Haven, Conn. There, the Bears will fight for a chance to compete at the National Indoors in November at the University of Virginia.
Last year, the doubles duo of Lee and Ratnam advanced to the semifinals. Lee expressed disappointment at not being able to compete this year.
"I wish I could compete at Regionals, since it's my senior year," Lee said. "I think I could have done well."
However, Lee has faith that his teammates will make a big statement at Regionals, especially after their performance over the weekend. "The guys are really ready to compete at Regionals," he said. "Hopefully, they'll do well so they can represent us at the National Indoors."
