Trinity Men's Tennis Opens 2009-10 Campaign At Middlebury Invitational
Hartford, Conn. - The Trinity College men's tennis program, coached by Paul Assaiante (14th Season), is eager to continue its annual success with 10 returning veterans, four returning starters, and another solid recruiting class. The Bantams will feel the loss of four-year starters Gautam Samarth, an Academic All-American, and David Yahng to graduation, but senior tri-captain and two-time NCAA National Qualifier Spencer Feldman (Upper Brookville, N.Y.) returns as one of the top returning singles and doubles players in the nation. Trinity will open the season on Saturday September 17 and 18 in the Middlebury College Invitational in Vermont.
Feldman finished the 2008-09 season with an 11-8 singles record and a 9-6 doubles mark, playing at the No. 1 position in the Trinity lineup. Feldman, a 2008 All-American earned All-NESCAC First Team honors for the second consecutive season and finished as the No. 24-ranked singles player in all of Division III tennis. Sophomore Anson McCook (Miami, Fla.) was solid as a freshman, playing in the top half of the Trinity lineup, while classmate Charles McConnell (New York, N.Y.) took All-NESCAC Second Team honors in doubles. McCook finished 13-5 in singles and 11-6 as a doubles player, while McConnell posted an 11-2 doubles mark as Samarth's partner at the No. 3 slot.
Senior tri-captains Adam Lanza (Glen Cove, N.Y.), a men's soccer player for Trinity in the fall who played his way into the varsity lineup last spring and finished with a 7-2 record, and Ian Malakoff (Great Falls, Va.) will also be major contributors in 2009-10. Junior D.J. Patrick (Atlanta, Ga.), and sophomore Dill Ayres (Laurel Hollow, N.Y.) are the other frontrunners that will battle a solid group of newcomers for several available spots in the lineup.
The Bantams continue to play one of the toughest schedules in the nation while competing in the top conference in Division III men's tennis. Ranked No. 5 in the Northeast and No. 19 in the nation in the final ITA Polls in 2009, Trinity's expectations are again high for the upcoming year.
