FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Despite the frigid temperatures sweeping through the area this weekend, the Fairfield University men's tennis team enters its second weekend of competition for the spring campaign, heading down to The Five Boroughs of New York to take on Fordham this afternoon. First serve between the Stags and the Rams is slated for 5:00 p.m. at Cary Leeds Tennis Center in The Bronx.
WEEKEND REWIND – JAN. 28-29 AT YALE & ARMY
The Stags opened spring competition last Wednesday as they embarked on a two-game road-trip to face both Yale and Army, a pair of powerhouse northeast opponents that in recent years has proved to be a strong foundation for the squad in the early portion of the season. Although Fairfield left the weekend still seeking its first win, the team looked strong against their first two opponents, earning the doubles point over Yale and the first singles win of the year over Army, with a topflight victory from the Stags' Kaya Gore last time out.
SCOUTING THE FORDHAM RAMS
Also in search of its first win of the year, Fordham enters Saturday's contest with the Stags after falling to back-to-back Ivy League opponents to open the year last weekend at Brown and Dartmouth. Saturday will mark the second time these teams will square off, as members of each squad competed against one another at the Fairfield Invitational at the WAC Tennis Courts last fall, with three Stags taking wins against Rams' players. Fordham will be playing its first home contest of the spring, the first of three home matches for them in their next five.
STAGS STATLINES
Overall, Fairfield amassed a 41-40 record in singles play in the fall, but dominated in doubles action, helped in part by the success at ITA's to end the fall 29-17 (.630). Will O'Brien will lead the Stags into singles action when the season gets rolling this weekend after pacing the squad with a 7-2 record in the fall, and he will enter the spring riding a three-match win streak.
At an even 6-6 on the year Sam Hodges has garnered the second most victories in solo action, followed by Griffin Schlesinger who stands as the only undefeated player for the team at a perfect 5-0 this season. Amongst the trio of newcomers for the Stags this season, Kostas Kollias leads that group with four singles wins, followed by three from Alex Aguiar and a pair from Sumer.
In doubles action, Jonathan Olive-Blanco and Keean Shah lead Fairfield into spring competition tied for the team lead in victories at a perfect 7-0, joined atop the squad's standings by the pairing of Gore and Sumer who have nabbed seven wins in their first nine matches as a partnership. Overall, Sumer and Olive-Blanco lead the Stags with a total of eight wins apeice in doubles action, followed by both O'Brien and Gore with seven apiece, and Kollias with six.
STACK THE MAAC
Fairfield's tennis programs are no strangers to the conference post season, with both teams having reached the MAAC title game at least once in the last five years, and the women's squad last hoisting the trophy in 2019. Both squads enter the spring campaign poised to make major moves in the MAAC, and the rest of the league has already begun to take notice. In the 2023 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Stags were picked as the favorites to win this year's conference championship while, in addition, the women's squad, after last season run to title game we're tabbed to finish second in the MAAC when the season comes to an end, finishing behind only Quinnipiac.
RUNNING THROUGH REGIONALS
The fall of 2022 saw the Fairfield men's tennis squad compete in four tournaments including hosting the Fairfield Invite in late September, and traveling to weekend tournaments at Navy, Lehigh, and Yale. In addition, seven Stags were invited to ITA Regionals Oct. 7-10 hosted by Army West Point, with four of those players rallying their way through the weekend in the doubles round to advance to the ITA Super Regionals, marking the first time in the history of Fairfield men's tennis that multiple teams have advanced in a single year.
Graduate Kaya Gore and graduate transfer Tolunay Sumer made up the first tandem to move on, with junior Keean Shah and senior Jonathan Olive-Blanco teaming up as the other doubles squad, highlighting a weekend that saw all seven Stags that competed in the invitational garner at least one victory.
"I'm extremely proud of how all of the guys competed this weekend," said Head Coach Jeff Bricker after the win. "All seven players that were invited had impactful wins and played at a very high level, and to have two teams qualify for Super Regional is an amazing result."
SURVEYING THE SPRING
Last weekend marked the start of a 20-match spring schedule for Fairfield men's tennis, that features 14 opponents on the non-league side of the calendar, representing nine different conferences, before the six game MAAC season to set the field for the 2023 MAAC Tennis Championships at Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor, N.J.
The Stags debut with three matches on the road before heading to the Tennis Club of Trumbull (TCT) for their first game as the host school when they take on Lafayette on Feb. 11. From there Fairfield will head out to Rhode Island to take on Ivy League foe Brown, before a pair of matches down in Georgia Feb. 24-25 when they take on Kennesaw State and Mercer. Returning north for their next two matches, the squad will head to Merrimack on Mar. 3 prior to hosting Sacred Heart at the TCT on Mar. 8.
Men's tennis will then head back down south, this time to Orlando, Fla. for three matches over spring break where they will take on IUPUI, Fairleigh Dickinson, and Marquette. When they return home, the Stags will play four of their next five at the WAC Tennis Courts, hosting Stonehill (Mar. 19) and Monmouth (Mar. 25) to close the non-conference side of the schedule, before turning around and opening the MAAC side of the calendar the following day at Rider.
After opening the conference slate against the Broncs, Fairfield returns home Apr. 1-2 to host Siena and Mount St. Mary's before making the long trip up to Niagara Falls, N.Y. to take on Niagara. Returning home on Apr. 11 to take on Marist, before heading out to Hamden, Conn. on Apr. 13 to take on Quinnipiac.
DOWN THE ROAD
After opening with three matches on the road, Fairfield men's tennis will return to Connecticut for their first home match of the spring when they host Lafayette next Saturday, Feb. 11. Opening serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at the Tennis Club of Trumbull.
