Men's tennis eyes fifth-straight title this weekend in New Jersey
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The top-seeded Bryant University men's tennis team will look to make it five-straight Northeast Conference Championships this weekend at Mercer County Park in West Windsor, N.J.
Bryant receives a bye in the quarterfinal round and will await its semifinal opponent on Saturday morning. The Black and Gold have advanced to the NEC Championship match all five years they have been eligible, winning the crown each of the last four years.
The Bulldogs will be vying to become just the second team in league history to win as many as five-straight titles (Monmouth – 6). They will also try to become the third school in league history to win as many as five titles (FDU – 12, Monmouth – 9).
And while Bryant has had some very good teams over the last four seasons, head coach Ron Gendron thinks this edition of the Black and Gold might be the best ever.
"The last three weeks have really let me believe this is the best team we've ever had going into the NECs," Gendron said. "I am really pleased with how we've begun to strike the ball and our shot selection."
Bryant will be led by reigning NEC Player of the Year redshirt junior Matt Kuhar (Smithfield, R.I.). Kuhar is coming off one of the greatest seasons for a tennis player in league history and enters the tournament with a 25-7 overall record and a 19-3 mark in dual matches.
"The NEC has never had a No. 1 playing at this level," Gendron said. "But it's not just Matt. Luke [Lorenz] is striking it really well, Art [Jakubowski] is improving daily and Jorge [Ortiz-Garcia] is just destroying the ball."
Those four will make up the bulk of Bryant's lineup for this weekend as Kuhar will play at No. 1, Lorenz will play at No. 2, Jakubowski will play at No. 3 and Ortiz-Garcia will play at No. 5. The other two singles players will be junior Michael Plutt (Weston, Fla.) and freshman Wilson Dong (Bradenton, Fla.).
Plutt has started to shake off the rust after spending the fall abroad and enters the NEC Tournament with a four-matching winning streak and a 7-2 record in his last nine matches. The 6-foot-4 Dong has also impressed and enters the tournament with four-straight wins.
Bryant thrived in doubles play early on in the season but hit a little speed bump during the middle of the year. According to Gendron, however, the Black and Gold have gotten back on track and enter the tournament with a very strong doubles unit.
Kuhar and Jakubowski will make up the No. 1 doubles team and have gone 18-8 on the year and have won four straight. Ortiz-Garcia will team with younger brother Jorge Isaias Ortiz-Garcia (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) at No. 2 and Lorenz and freshman Grant Pertile (Edgartown, Mass.) will play at No. 3. The Ortiz-Garcia brothers are 13-14 this season, while Lorenz and Pertile have combined to go 15-5 on the year.
And while the Bulldogs have a great deal of experience and have been there before, Gendron knows that it can also work against them.
"All the success we've had is also a neutralizing disadvantage," Gendron said. "To have that target on your back all season as the NEC champ and the slight pressure of being the team that has to get five.
"I don't think the conference has ever been this deep from top to bottom," Gendron added. "We are going to preach all week long that our season has been a great success and we don't have to do anything. We're going to compete with a warriors mindset and do the best that we can and hopefully get our fifth, but it's not the end-all, be-all."