Playing in a hostile environment and in adverse weather conditions, the men's tennis team, ranked No. 5 nationally, picked up two big wins this weekend over No. 16 Salisbury State University (Md.) and No. 12 Washington College (Md.).
In the first match of the weekend, Head Coach John Browning and Asst. Coach Ray Spill, both in their first year at Emory, returned to their previous stomping ground as the Eagles dominated the Sea Gulls for a 7-0 win.
Browning came to Emory this year after serving five years as Salisbury State's head coach.
"It was a very surreal experience for me," Browning said. "I had coached a lot of those guys, and they came in pretty intense. But our guys handled it very well."
Despite nearly 30 mph winds, the Eagles picked up wins in every match.
"It was a great team effort," Browning said. "Under those conditions you can't play like you're accustomed to, but we stayed focused and were still able to come out and play great tennis."
No. 1 singles player Brett Kaplan, who won his match 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, said it was important to the Eagles to pick up the win for their coaches.
"It was weird [for the coaches] but they wanted to go in there and beat them up really good," Kaplan said. "I'm really glad we were able to do that for them."
Junior Jason McCarthy picked up a big win at No. 2 singles, fighting for the 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 victory.
"Even though Jason wasn't hitting the ball real well the whole time, he really grinded out those matches," sophomore No. 5 Tom Curran said.
The Eagles returned to action Saturday to face Washington, yet found worse weather conditions and a more hostile setting.
A derogatory religious comment from a member of Washington's squad set the tone for the match, and proved to be the spark plug for the Eagles as they cruised to a 5-1 win.
"[The comment] was out of line, unnecessary and unprofessional," Browning said. "But it made them focus and it galvanized the team. From that point they stepped up the intensity."
After nearly getting in a fight with an irate former Washington player during his match, and becoming frustrated with some clearly unfair calls, Kaplan walked away from his match with a "Did not finish."
Kaplan said his opponent, Jose Lejarraga, repeatedly called balls out that were clearly in.
"He blatantly cheated and I just blew up and went nuts," Kaplan said.
With the Eagles already up 4-1, the match was already over and Kaplan's score would not affect the final outcome.
"Washington was such a hostile environment so it was tough to focus," Curran said. "We came through and beat a good team."
McCarthy once again picked up a key win for the Eagles, as he downed the Shoremen's Bart Prytula, ranked No. 26 in the national singles ranking, 6-4, 7-6, in the final match of the weekend.
"This match was important for his individual record and getting to Nationals," Browning said.
Junior No. 3 singles player Mike Miller also had a good weekend, winning every singles and doubles match in which he played.
With just over two weeks until regionals, Browning said this weekend's adversity should help the team in the long run.
"This weekend is a character builder and should help set the tone for the rest of the season," Browning said.
