Feb 15th , Cambridge MA - Men's CSA Nationals at a glance: 51 teams, eight divisions, four locations, three days. CSA Men's Nationals up close: A regular season ends with an astonishing come from behind victory, hours before the same team plays their first match at Nationals. Teams three through six played hard huddled on the back courts of Harvard. Teams in the D Division, playing for the Conroy cup play on and on and on. Trinity marched in and then marched on. Tulane played their first collegiate match ever.

Jake Leiby in Conroy Division action. (photo:©2008 Debra Tessier) more photos

The day began at MIT with Rochester and Williams playing for the No. 8 seed to get into the A Division. In an unprecedented move they played what was essentially a regular season match on the same day as Nationals began.

"The committee couldn't make a decision on who was number eight, so the decision rested on a pre-qualification match" Williams head coach Zafi Levy said. "There is no question now who is a better team."

That was his conclusion, though the margin was razor thin, with Rochester leading in three of the five matches they lost so the final result was, to most observers, closer to a dead heat. And in the final match (at #5), with the match tied at 4-each, the Rochester player, Kobayashi, led 2 games to love and then 6-3 in the fourth game, before falling prey to a combination of nerves and the loud exhortations of a highly partisan Williams crowd who had assembled for the early morning match at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Rochester, as expected won at the top four. Williams pulled through at the bottom and it all came down to the middle.

Colby's Alexander Fulton and Vassar's Ryan McGinley-Stempel in Conroy Division action. (photo:©2008 Debra Tessier) more photos

After Rochester's number one and number three, Hameed Ahmed and Will Newnham, each won 3-1 it came down to number fives, Rochester's Yohay Wakabayashi and Williams' Will Gruner.  Gruner was down 2-0 and it appeared Wakabayashi would carry Rochester into the A Division. Gruner had other plans.

"His forehand kills were hurting me in the first two games." Gruner said. "In the third I kept it on his back hand which was my game plan. I knew I should do that and just started implanting it on the third."

Gruner's comeback was sweet for him and his team.

"That was awesome," Gruner said. "I had a tough time getting recruited. Zafi thought I'd play nine or 10. To end the season with a win like that is pretty special."

Results; Rochester vs Williams:

Following Williams' win, the action in the A division shifted to the Harvard complex where Harvard was taking on Western Ontario and Yale and Penn were facing off.

Harvard suffered a setback Wednesday in their match against Yale when No. 2 Verdi DiSesa injured his Achilles. Disesa won one game, but ultimately lost the match, one of three match losses on the day for Harvard.

"When we lost to Yale on Wednesday we knew were playing Western, and we weren't looking forward to it," Harvard assistant coach Chris Smith said. "Harvard came out strong. The team is fired up. We won one game the last time we played Trinity. We talked about getting some respect back."

No. three seed Yale was on point again Friday against Penn following their 7-2 win on Wednesday, though they started a bit slow.

"We played a little flat this morning," captain Moshe Sarfaty said. "We were down 2-0 in a couple matches. We have heart and kept fighting. We are going to keep fighting Saturday."

John Fulham staged one of Yale's comebacks. Fulham and Penn No. 3 Mark Froot have played each other countless times, as the two went to high school together. Froot had won the last twelve matches, by Fulham's estimation. It looked like Froot would add another to that win streak. Down 2-0, Fulham had other plans.

"I just run," Fulham said. "I knew I was fitter than him. My whole game is to run. I am more of an athlete.

Regarding defeating Froot, Fulham said, "For me this was a mental game. I had to vanquish some demons."

Froot had a rough day overall.

"I broke all my racquets," he said. "I was scared in the front. I was missing my shots and I was tired."

HOEHN CUP ACTION

The eight teams competing for the Hoehn Cup, are all very close and had a season where everyone seemed to beat everyone. The first day of matches saw some surprisingly lopsided results, the most so being Bates' 9-0 victory over Brown.

"It was pretty one sided." Bates' No. 9 Deacon Chapin said. "I think we are looking sharp. The division is very competitive though. I think from here on it is going to be very close."

There was also a surprising upset, when 13th ranked Navy turned around their regular season loss to Bowdoin and stopped the Polar Bears decisively.

The D Division had some matches that went very long. Two of the toughest fought matches were Hobart against Northwestern and Southern California versus George Washington.

Hobart won 5-4 and feels great about their chances to go win the Conroy Cup.

"Overall the team is looking pretty tough," co-captain Cale Forgues said. "We are the strongest in the division."

The most memorable match between USC and George Washington was between the No. 2 players. George Washington's Matt Grossman accidentally hit Jonathon Joshi in the third game. Later in the game he grazed Joshi again. Both players were frustrated and debating over lets and strokes. The crowd's frustration grew along with the players' and some members of both teams decided they would debate not only the opposing player on court, but also the referees. Joshi won the match 3-1, but USC ultimately lost.

Trinity walked in during the USC and George Washington match, and suddenly all eyes were on them.  Soon later they were on court against Williams in a match with a predictable ending but a packed crowd. The Bantams didn't let down, putting on a show of shotmaking and control. The two NESCAC teams had a couple close games, including Williams' No. 1 John Barry getting ahead on Baset Chaudhry before losing 10-8 in the second.

 "We were very excited that Williams came through, because it is good to have two NESCAC teams in the top eight" Trinity head coach Paul Assaiante said. "We knew Williams would be dangerous because they played in the morning and were loose. They played without fear.'

In the last set of matches of the night, some teams made their Nationals debut, including Tulane and North Carolina in the Emerging teams division. Tulane had yet to play a collegiate match, and was very excited for the opportunity. Fittingly, co-captain and team founder Harlan Schwartz scored first in his match and won the first game, though he eventually lost the match at No. 5. The Tar Heels and Green Wave are now both have an official Nationals match under their belt, with the Tar heels also having a win.

All teams will be hoping to sharpen over the next two days and not get worn out. Some teams like Trinity, Princeton, Harvard and Yale will be looking for a national championship, while others, like Tulane, will be hoping for experience. An already interesting weekend should only get more so.

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