Coming off a successful spring break down in Puerto Rico, the men’s tennis team tallied two more wins over the first weekend back over both Patriot League opponent Loyola and the Morgan State bears. The Raiders are now on a very impressive seven game win-streak. 

The match against Loyola was hard-fought, but the Raiders kept up the pressure and never gave the Greyhounds the upper hand. After besting Loyola in all three doubles matches, the Raiders continued onto their single match play, up 1-0. In four straight wins, the Raiders dominated Loyola and sealed their 5-2 victory over the Greyhounds. 

“Everyone battled well against Loyola and played with high energy,” said sophomore Jake Hirschberg when asked about the Raiders’ stellar performance against Loyola. 

After the Raiders dominated Loyola, they prepared to face-off against the Morgan State Bears the following day. Senior captain Alan Pleat and junior Nick Laub, coupled with legendary sophomore duo Bobby Alter and Winston Arthur Reynolds (known as WAR on campus), led the Raiders to victory once again in double-match play.  After some intense games, the Raiders sealed their victory after besting the Bears in singles as well. The men’s tennis team beat Morgan State 4-2.

“Against Morgan State we didn’t play our best but [were] able to pull it out. The conditions weren’t great and it made it a little difficult to play at a high level so we need to adjust better to playing outside next time,” Hirschberg said when asked about the Raiders’ performance against the Bears. 

The Raiders now boast a 12-5 overall record, with a 2-1 record in the Patriot League. According to Hirschberg, this is the first time that has happened since 1947, so the team is very excited about their recent performance.  The team is doing exceptionally well this year and they are in a very good position heading into the tail end of their season against Patriot League foes. 

“The team has been taking lifts and practice much more seriously this year. That, along with the addition of another assistant coach has been a huge factor in us improving our record from last year,” Reynolds said when asked what has been the main contribution to their success thus far. 

One thing to note about the tennis season in the coming weeks is that the Raiders will need to adjust to the warmer weather and playing outside.

Many of the players to whom I have spoke have echoed this sentiment and agreed that playing outside is very different than playing indoors. The Raiders take on the Bucknell Bison this Saturday at 2 p.m. on Colgate’s very own Joseph Abrahamson Tennis Courts.