This weekend witnessed the 2020 ITA Kickoff and the start of the season for Tulane’s men’s tennis team. Heading into the tournament, the Green Wave was seeded No. 4 given its wins in the first two pre-season games.         

This year’s roster includes freshmen Charlie Barry, Joseph Daw and Henry Lovett, as well as redshirt freshman Benji Jacobson. Juniors are Akos Kotorman and Hamish Stewart, and Seniors are Luis Erlenbusch, Dane Esses, Ewan Moore and Tim Ruetzel. Coming back for an eleventh season is Coach Mark Booras, who has been leading the team since its revival following Hurricane Katrina.   

At the tournament, Tulane played No.11 Stanford University Saturday before versing No. 29 University of Miami on Sunday. Both teams were likely to be a challenge, especially the Cardinal, which defeated Tulane in the 2018 and 2019 ITA Kickoffs.

In the first match, Tulane was routed four to one.  Despite the loss, junior Hamish Stewart had one of the greatest matches of his life. Stewart, who is ranked 90th, beat 18th-ranked Alexandre Rotsaert six to two, and then again six to two in the second set. Given the loss to Stanford, Tulane’s next game determined which team would place third in the tournament.        

In the second match, Tulane lost four to two. Hamish Stewart and Akos Kotorman had an impressive doubles performance, winning six to two and marking a 10-game win streak as doubles partners. Additionally, Stewart and Luis Erlenbusch won both of their singles matches.  In the end, despite the Green Wave’s excellent play, the Hurricanes took the final set to win everything.            

With a great start to the Spring season, Tulane’s men’s tennis heads to Baton Rouge to play LSU on Friday at four pm.

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PARKER WATERS