AMHERST, MA. — The #18 Amherst College men's tennis team faced a formidable challenge Sunday when #2 Tufts came to the Amherst Tennis Courts, and despite a spirited home effort, the Mammoths fell 6–1 to drop to 5–4 overall and 2–2 in the NESCAC. Tufts, unbeaten in conference play at 3–0, came in as one of the most complete teams in the country, and the gap showed from the opening doubles sets, yet Amherst remained competitive in several matches, pushing the Jumbos in tiebreaks and three-set battles before the weight of a top-3 program ultimately prevailed.
HIGHLIGHTS
- George Chaidemenos delivered Amherst's lone win of the afternoon with a sharp and clinical 6–1, 6–0 sweep of Andrej Djokic at #3 singles, gaining momentum for the Mammoth.
- Andreas Sillaste gave everything at #1 in a tough matchup, taking Javier Gonzalez to a third-set tiebreak before falling 6–2, 2–6, 7–6, a gutsy three-set battle that could easily have gone the other way.
- In doubles, Amherst was competitive up and down the line-up; Sillaste and Lukas Frangenberg pushed Ganchev and Maes to a tiebreak at #1 before falling 7–6, a narrow margin that reflected how closely matched the teams were.
RESULTS (6–1, L):
DOUBLES:
Alex Ganchev / Sacha Maes (T) def.
Andreas Sillaste /
Lukas Frangenberg (A), 7–6
Javier Gonzalez / Andrej Djokic (T) def.
George Chaidemenos /
Rex Harrison (A), 7–5
Kaetan Mehta / S. Mastrogamvrakis (T) def.
Albert Hu /
Ronald Gualario (A), 6–2
SINGLES:
Javier Gonzalez (T) def.
Andreas Sillaste (A), 6–2, 2–6, 7–6
Alex Ganchev (T) def.
Lukas Frangenberg (A), 6–0, 6–0
George Chaidemenos (A) def. Andrej Djokic (T), 6–1, 6–0
Garv Bahl (T) def.
Aldiyar Abzhan (A), 6–3, 7–5
Sacha Maes (T) def.
Rex Harrison (A), 6–4, 6–1
S. Mastrogamvrakis (T) def.
Albert Hu (A), 3–6, 6–0, 6–4
UP NEXT
Amherst hits the road Saturday, April 4 at noon to face Hamilton College in what is another important NESCAC contest. The Mammoths will look to regroup after facing the conference's top team and rediscover the form that earned them back-to-back NESCAC wins in their last two conference meetings.
