Eric Halpern, junior, won his first ITA singles title and for his effort, he was awarded his 2nd All-American honor. The ITA regional tournament is a 3 day grind fest. Eric, had to play a total of 6 singles matches, and, because he reached the doubles final with partner, Simon Lavoie-Perusse(Senior Captain), his total match count for 3 days was 11 matches.
Eric, was one of the key reasons our team won an NCAA title 2012. During that tournament he displayed an amazing level of mental toughnesss which was evident on the last day of the ITA tournament. One of the absolute worst parts of my job is having to watch teammates play each other. It's like watching your own kids beat each other up. It's a no win situation because there's alway someone who comes out completely disappointed at the conclusion of the match. The first semi-final match featured Eric vs. Ian Wagner(junior), who was also one the key reasons we won an NCAA title. Ian, is an incredibly talented player that has been an absolute rock in our lineup, and he is also our first NCAA doubles champion. Eric's mental toughness came through and enabled him to win a emotional 3rd set win.
The other semi-final match featured Robert Kjellberg, the number 1 player in the country. Kjellberg, has owned our team the past 3 years. He's an incredibly talented player from North Carolina Wesleyan and very difficult to beat. Kjellberg, was matched up with Emory sophomore, Rafe Mosetick. Rafe is one of the hardest working players that I have the fortune of coaching. I remember last year I was teaching a clinic, it was close to 10pm at night and Rafe was hitting a basket of serves by himself. It's this type of consistent commitment that has enabled him to take his game to the next level. Rafe, played one of the matches of the tournament, dominating Kjellberg 6-3,6-1. It was one of the most dominating performances I have seen.
Once again, most coaches would be happy to see 2 of their players fighting for the title, and I was very proud to have Emory players in the finals, but, I really cannot stand watching them beat each other up. Rafe jumped out to an early lead winning the first set and continuing his high level of play. Eric, survived a tough 3 set semi-final match, so I knew he had to be a little tired, but you can never under-estimate his toughness. The second set was very close, and more importantly, the level was extremely high. Rafe did not lose the second set, Eric won it. Eric saved his best tennis for the 2nd set. Going into the 3rd set, Rafe began to cramp, and Eric, kept the pressure on winning his first title. I know this has been one Eric's goals and the amount of work he put into the summer paid off huge dividends.
An hour later, the finals of doubles was ready to go on. Eric had just played 6 sets of tennis and was now scheduled to play the finals against an North Carolina Wesleyan team. One of the biggest surprises was the play of Simon Lavoie Perusse, senior. Simon was instrumental in getting his team to the finals. The NCW team was too good defeating Halpern/Lavoie-Perusse. Fatigue definitely played a factor in this outcome and I know that Eric felt bad for Simon, but honestly, he gave it his all
there was not much left in his tank.
Tyler Gadbois, junior, reached the finals of the B-singles draw losing to an NCW player. It's not easy being asked to play in the b-draw, but I was proud of Tyler's attitude and the way he conducted himself on the court, it speaks volumes to his character.
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