McMaster 5, Waterloo 2
Waterloo Warriors open their 2018-19 campaign on the weekend against McMaster Marauders with a loss. The match played at Stoney Creek Tennis Club in Hamilton on a sunny, hot and humid day proved a distinct disadvantage for the Warriors who train indoor.

The two schools have had many close battles in the past with Waterloo managing to come out on top most of the time but not on Saturday. Losing the doubles point was an indication of how the day was to unfold for Waterloo. With three new doubles teams playing in competition for the first time, Waterloo lost at no 3 but followed with a win by its no.# 2 pair.  The decider was on the racquets of the no. 1 teams.  Having a very poor start, the Waterloo no.1 pair of DJ Fenerty and Peter Hull (Toronto/) had climbed back from a 5-1 deficit to make a fight of it before succumbing 6-8.   The team playing at no.#2 of Josh Worme, a second-year member and rookie Eitan Rozin (Toronto/) won their match comfortably to prevent a sweep.

In singles action, Waterloo lost four consecutive singles at #3, 4, 5, 6. Some excitement was created by No.3 Worme who had a fiercely competitive match against an opponent whose game matched his on the day but with an added touch of inspiration.  These two had long and punishing rallies, which even if played in more benign weather conditions, would have tested the physical conditioning of most players at this level.  Though he lost in two sets, he was a model of grit and determination.

Other wins came at no.1 from co-captain Fenerty; he was up 3-0 when his opponent was forced to retire due to painful shin splints. Rookie Eitan Rozin (Toronto/), playing at no.#2 dispatched his opponent 8-1 in a pro set played instead of  regular sets because by then McMaster had  won the requisite 4 points. He was the only unbeaten Warrior on the day. A very promising start to his varsity career at Waterloo.
Results:

Doubles:
DJ Fenerty/Peter Hull (Toronto/) lost to Marko Kocar/Poorshad Afshar   6-8
Eitan Rozin (Toronto/)/Josh Worme bt Martin Zelikovsky/ Victor Kapetamovic  8-4
Alexander Tingling (Oakville/)/Marko Martinovic (Kitchener/) lost to Kieran Kwok/Daniel Kucey  5-8

Singles:
Fenerty bt Kocar 3-0 retired
Rozin bt Afshar 8-1
Worme lost to Zelikovsky  4-6, 3-6
Hull lost to Myles Harrison 3-6, 2-6
Tingling lost to Freeman Paczkowski 4-6, 1-6
Lazar Vukoje (Guelph/) lost to Kapetamovic 3-6,2-6

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Waterloo 6, Brock 1
Happy to be playing  at home on Sunday in familiar territory and shielded from the elements, , combined with the fact of losing to the Marauders, , the Warriors' efforts were of a higher quality on Sunday and  were rewarded with a comfortable wins against solid but not spectacular players.

Another factor coming into play was having John Chan (Whistler/) return to thedoubles lineup on Sunday. It made the difference between winning and losing the important doubles point. The team buoyed by the win, all went on to win their matches comfortably save for rookie Ivan Nikolic (Kitchener/) making his debut.  Josh Worme playing at #3 had another battle but this time came through in three sets.

The Warriors  face their strongest challenges next weekend  when they play host to McGill,  Friday Sept 21 at 3 p.m. and Western on Sunday Sept 23 starting at noon. The venue is the Waterloo Tennis Club.

Doubles:
John Chan (Whistler/)/DJ Fenerty won 8-2
Eitan Rozin (Toronto/)/Josh Worme won 8-3
Alexander Tingling (Oakville/)/ Lazar Vukoje (Guelph/) lost 2-8

Singles:
Rozin won -6-2, 6-1
Fenerty won 6-1, 6-0
Worme won 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Tingling won 8-1
Saifullah Shoaib (Karachi, Pakistan/) bt Mithun Kanagaseelan  6- 4, 6-4
Ivan Nikolic (Kitchener/) lost to Jeff Gould 3-8