Six players on the men's tennis team represented Brown in the four-day ITA Regionals from Oct. 16 to 19. Co-captains Kendrick Au '11 and Charlie Posner '11 advanced to the doubles final on the last day, losing 9-7 to Alistair Felton and Andy Nguyen from Harvard.
"All the teams at Regionals are top teams," Au said. "We knew going in there would be no easy match."
Au and Posner received a bye in the first round. They faced off against Chris Post and Diego Valdenegro from St. Bonaventure in the next round, whom they sailed past, 8-3. Starting in the round of 16, the competition became fierce, but Au and Posner battled through. First they defeated Dan Freeman and Michael Laser from host school Dartmouth, 9-7. They then beat out Sven Vlodgraven and Gilbert Wong from Binghamton University, 8-6.
"We were able to score the big points," Au said. "Overall, we played well."
In the semi-final round, Au and Posner defeated the second doubles team from Harvard, 8-6. In the final round, they played against the first doubles team from the Crimson. Au and Posner established a comfortable 6-2 lead, but Harvard rallied from behind to take the win, 9-7.
"Charlie and I came out really quick" in the final match, Au said. "The Harvard team played well, but we played a notch above them in the first eight games. But momentum is so important in doubles. We might have gotten a little complacent and allowed them to come back."
Despite the loss, Au said his confidence was high.
"We had our chances," Au said. "But our confidence is up because we know we can keep up with the best teams in the region."
Andrew Yazmer '12 and Michael Hill '13 were the other Brown doubles pair who advanced in the tournament. They won their first match against Graydon Klassen and John Nogueras from Colgate, 8-4, to advance to the round of 32. But they could not move further in the competition after they fell to Jonathan Wong and Haig Schneiderman from Columbia, 9-8.
On the singles end, the team did not fare as well. All five singles players fell in the round of 64. After receiving a bye in the first round, Au lost his second match to Christian Coley from Marist in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6. Nathaniel Gorham '10 also fell in three sets in the second round after edging out his opponent in a fierce first set, 7-6, but losing the next two 6-1, 6-4.
"We did not play as well in singles," Au said. "But we all put up a good fight. It's important for us to see where we are and where we want to be, especially in the fall."
The Bears will travel to Cambridge, Mass., to compete in the three-day Big Crimson Invitational from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. As of now, four Brown players, two freshmen and two sophomores, are expected to represent the Bears at the invitational.
"I remember it was a great experience for me when I played there my freshmen year," Au said. "I think it will be a great experience for the young players on the team too."
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