The Colby College men’s tennis team took on a determined Trinity College team this past weekend and was unable to gain a victory against the tough opponents. Colby was unable to convert on some close matches and unfortunately found itself on the wrong side of a 7-2 final score.

Jack Bryant ’14 provided the lone win in singles for the Mules, winning his match over Jugal Marfatia in three sets: 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. With the successful effort, Bryant remains undefeated on the season after seven matches.

Both Matt Mantikas ’13 (who fell to Charles McConnell, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4) and Jason Ottomano ’14 fought hard to three sets but were unable to pull out a victory. Ottomano showed grit in the matchup against one of the top New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) singles players, Anson McCook, falling 6-1, 5-7, 6-1. On the doubles side, Luke Martin ’14 and Ottomano combined to win the third position in a tough contest, 9-8 (3).

Despite the seemingly lopsided result, the match was closer than the numbers indicate. With both Ottomano and Mantikas taking their singles matches to three sets, both matches could have gone either way and then the team score could have been 5-4. Colby hung tough despite the discouraging outcomes.

Coach Doanh Wang feels that his team is still on the right track. “When we look at the opportunities we had in doubles and singles, the score for both matches could have been a lot closer and we could have pulled out the wins,” he said, speaking about the matches against Trinity as well as a 7-2 loss to Bates the Wednesday before. “I think that our losses to Trinity and Bates are actually very positive for us; I feel it keeps us hungry to keep improving. This year’s team is really looking to set some milestones.”

The team had been 5-0 on the year before the pair of league defeats. Coach Wang was very complimentary of young Ottomano, who has had a significant impact on the team’s success this year. “Jason has risen to the occasion by filling in the top spot for Tommy Kimball ’12, who is abroad. He played a solid player yesterday [against Trinity] and was able to hang with him stroke for stroke. Jason has all the potential to be one of the top players in the region. Already he has competed against some of the nation’s top players and has shown he belongs on the court with them.”

Wang also expressed optimism about some of the other first-years on the squad. “Rounding out the rest of the class is Matt Carroll ’14 competing in the top three  singles and [first] doubles spot with Jack Bryant, who is undefeated this spring at number four singles; Luke Martin has only lost one match this spring at the five spot.”

The Mules will take on Wesleyan University and Connecticut College this weekend in Connecticut and will look to return to their winning ways. The team is very excited for the future. Coach Wang laid out a bright road ahead for the program, “We don’t graduate anyone this year, and we get our number one back in the fall. We will have a lot of opportunities over the next several years. If we continue to prepare well, stay confident and recognize opportunities, then I believe we can take this program to the next level.”