Six Things You Need to Know About the 2024 Men’s Tennis Team

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT Men's Tennis team resumes its 2023-24 season on Saturday (Feb. 10) against Oneonta. Here are six things you need to know about this year's team.

Last Season
RIT finished 7-10 in dual matches in 2022-23, including five home wins. The Tigers returns six players from the 2022-23 squad, including Christian Berko who led RIT with 12 wins in singles.

Back in the Fall…
The Tigers competed in three tournaments last fall, competing at the Allegheny Invitational, St. Lawrence Fall Classic and the ITA Northeast Regional. First year Luke Weber teamed up with junior Max Chang to advance to the "B" Flight doubles final at the St. Lawrence Invitational.

A Mix of Veterans and Newcomers
RIT features six veterans and five newcomers on the roster this spring. Juniors Grahith Movva and Verosh Jayanetti will anchor the returning group. Linhart brought in five talented first year players in Gabriel Escobar, Anthony Lounder, Alec Turcotte, Ben Walerstein and Weber.

"They are by far some of our most experienced players," said sixth-year head coach Tom Linhart. "To have them back is going to be a really good anchor, and they have been playing some of the smartest tennis they have ever played in their time here."

Singles
Berko led RIT with 12 wins last season and recorded a 1-1 record in the fall. Movva won seven matches last season, including five at No. 1 singles. Chang had eight wins, while Pho recorded six victories last season. All five newcomers saw action in the fall and will compete with the upperclassmen for playing time this spring.

"It's not going to be about one player," says Linhart. "It's going to be about who shows up. All of our guys can win points for us in the lineup. It'll be interesting to see what combination we get."

Doubles
Chang and Weber teamed up to record a 3-2 record in doubles this fall. Escobar and Turcotte went 1-1 in tournaments, while Berko and Movva went 1-1 in the fall.
 
"For the first time in many years we have depth with experience in our doubles lineup," said Linhart. "It is going to be interesting to see what pairs are the most consistent during the non-conference schedule. But needless to say, we have options that afford us the ability to get creative."

Schedule
RIT begins the spring season against Oneonta (Feb. 10) and host Rochester at the Midtown Athletic Club the following day.

The Tigers play at Nazareth (Feb. 14) and close out February competing at the Drew Doubles Tournament (Feb. 24-25).

March begins with a pair of road matches at NYU (March 2) and The College of New Jersey (March 3). RIT hosts Houghton (March 20) and begin Liberty League play at home against Bard (March 23).

The Tigers hit the road for three straight Liberty League contests at Ithaca (April 3), at St. Lawrence (April 6) and at Skidmore (April 7). RIT hosts RPI (April 13) in the first of three straight home conference matches that include Vassar (April 14) and Hobart (April 17). The Tigers close the regular season at Union (April 27).