Over the weekend, Villanova men’s tennis team traveled to Lehigh to compete in the Lehigh Invitational for its season opener.
During the two-day tournament, Villanova competed against Rider, Lafayette and Lehigh.
“I thought everything looked good to be honest,” Villanova head coach Brad Adams said. “I was very impressed with some of the freshmen as well as our transfer Kush Anand who picked up some very good wins. I thought we could have potentially played better doubles, but we are still trying to tweak the teams.”
In doubles play, sophomore Thomas Wakefield and freshman Cameron Kruep were able to defeat Lehigh freshman duo Jose Murariu and Nate Raney, 6-3. The rest of Villanova’s doubles pairings struggled to find a rhythm, and Lehigh seniors Marc Bleckhman and Sean Jaeger defeating Villanova sophomore Kush Anand and senior Trey Fourticq, 6-1. Lehigh freshman Ofer Hacohen and junior Jackson Morash defeated Villanova sophomore Will Monahan and freshman Jack Sherner, 6-2. Benedict Horn-Bourque and Luke Donovan of Lehigh got the victory over Villanova freshman Evan Ancu and sophomore Justin Frattarelli, 7-5. Villanova lost the doubles competition against Lehigh, 1-3.
“[We are trying] to find guys that are compatible with each other and complement each other’s games,” Adams said. “In the fall it’s pretty loose as far as, like, no set teams. We can play around with teams.”
Heading into singles, Villanova showed more promise than in doubles but ultimately fell short again. Monahan defeated Lehigh’s Bleckhman in a commanding 8-4 win. Junior Cooper Gordon also won, defeating Lehigh’s Jaeger, 8-6. Anand got his first win as a Wildcat, defeating Hacohen, 8-7. Lehigh’s Murariu defeated Fourticq, 8-1. The remaining five singles pairings went to the Mountain Hawks. Villanova lost the singles competition against Lehigh, finishing, 3-5.
The tennis team is entering a rebuilding year after losing several key upperclassmen. With a squad that is young and less experienced collegiately the team is concentrated on cultivating its new players and making preparations for the future. Adams said that the additions to the team will add value.
“I think it really rejuvenated the team as far as they are excited to play,” Adams said. “Over the next couple of weeks we will see how they compete. But as far as practices have gone over the first four weeks of the season, it has gone extremely well. This is sort of like getting your foot wet a little bit for [the freshman] that have not seen college competition. So I am very excited to see how they compete next week at St. Joseph’s.”
The team has a total of four freshmen and four sophomores with one of the sophomores being Anand, who joins the program after playing his freshman year at Division III Williams College.
Anand had a strong freshman year at Williams, as he went 11-10 in singles and 13-9 in doubles competition, reaching the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen.
“Kush played two great matches in singles and had a very good doubles weekend,” Adams said.
With new players comes new goals, and Adams has some in mind.
“Compete within the Big East, that is always our top goal,” Adams said. “Be competitive and look for a conference title. Within the team building great brotherhood which I think helps us on the court and off the court. I think those are great goals for us.”
The team will travel to cross-town rivals St. Joseph’s to continue its season in the St. Joseph’s Invitational, Friday, Oct. 4, Saturday, Oct. 5 and Sunday, Oct. 6.
