With only one senior on the team and five underclassmen in the starting lineup, the men’s tennis team is relying heavily on youth this season.
At the core of this transition are two freshmen who are expected to have a significant impact this season. Freshmen doubles partners Alex Stoler and Josh Rifkin have each had breakout seasons, earning a doubles record of 9–5 — the second-best record on the team.
Rifkin and Stoler were paired up almost immediately at the beginning of the fall season and have seen success ever since.
“The first or second practice [Head Coach Bill Austin] put us together and we just clicked,” Stoler said. “Josh is more of a doubles player and I’m definitely more of a singles player, but we’ve had good chemistry.”
Austin said the duo’s strengths complement each other perfectly.
“I kind of like to subscribe to a hammer and a chisel theory, where Josh is a chisel,” Austin said. “He’s creating with his hands up at the net. Alex, he’s got very good returns, he’s a lefty, and he can hammer the ball. The more he hammers the ball, the more it gives Josh the opportunity to create up at the net.”
Austin also said the fact they were both freshmen had little bearing on his decision to pair them up.
“It’s trying to find the right combinations, the right chemistry [so] that they’ll be successful together,” Austin said. “The class rank doesn’t enter into it at all.”
The two also agree that their styles complement each other and are a big reason for their success. Rifkin, the more natural doubles player with a large net presence and quick hands, complements Stoler’s powerful serve and forceful style.
“Josh is very strategic,” Stoler said. “He knows exactly where to put the ball and he’s very confident in doing it.”
Rifkin said Stoler’s aggressiveness on the court works well with his own playing style.
“He’s an aggressive, controlling player, and that’s good in doubles because one person has to be, while the other person is not so much,” Rifkin said. “So when you combine aggressiveness and strategy you have a good combination.”
The pair’s biggest test came during spring break when the Bombers headed down to Hilton Head, S.C., to take on several large Division II and Division III squads. Stoler and Rifkin went 3–1 as a team, defeating pairs from Dickinson College, Bryant University and Missouri Valley College, only falling to Bloomsburg University.
After falling behind 7–1 against Bloomsburg, the two won four straight games before falling 8–5. Stoler said the pair learned from sticking with such a tough opponent.
“We definitely learned a lot from that one match,” Stoler said. “It really showed a lot of character in us.”
They carried that comeback momentum into their next match, defeating Dickinson 9–8.
“We were down 7–3, and they were serving for match,” Rifkin said. “But we never thought that the match was over. Just from what happened the first night, it not only improved our game, it improved our mindset. Then we just cruised through the other two matches.”
The two agree that the tough competition they faced in South Carolina will give them a leg up against other teams in the Empire 8, which was evident when the Bombers defeated Elmira College 9–0 last Monday.
“Coming back and winning those matches in Hilton Head [and] being 3–1 against those big schools boosted our confidence, so now we’re prepared basically for anyone here,” Rifkin said.
Though Stoler is the No. 2 singles seed and Rifkin holds the No. 3 seed, the duo said there is no competition to gain an upper hand and they aren’t planning on battling each other for a lineup switch anytime soon.
“We’re interchangeable,” Stoler said. “Tennis is an individual sport, but tennis at Ithaca is such a team thing. It’s not about getting the other player in front of you, it’s about winning.”
Austin said if Stoler and Rifkin keep playing well, they will become a very intimidating team to face.
“I want them to keep improving,” Austin said. “If they keep getting better, it’s going to be very difficult for another team to beat them.”
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