Taking the court without several key players, the men's and women's tennis teams limped to eighth and seventh place respectively finishes in the season-ending University Athletic Association tournament from April 21-23 in Atlanta. Emory University won both competitions for the 16th consecutive season. The men's team finished the spring season with an 8-12 record, while the women finished 6-10. Injuries and absences forced both teams to make lineup changes. The men's team competed without No. 2 singles player Mike Vulfovich '07 and No. 3 singles player Chris Hersel '06, who were sidelined with shoulder injuries. The seventh-seeded Judges struggled without them, losing to Washington University in St. Louis 7-0 in the tournament opener April 21. The team also lost in the consolation rounds to the University of Chicago 4-1 April 22 and to Case Western Reserve University 4-1 on April 23.

"Depth needed to be one of our strongest attributes this season, and it really hasn't been," coach Ben Lamanna said. "That's why we finished last in UAAs."

The Judges struggled mightily in their match against WashU , the No. 8 team in Division III. After losing the doubles point, the team won only one set in the six singles matches.

At No. 1 singles, Sam Jonas '07 won only one game against WashU senior Ari Rosenthal, losing the match 6-1, 6-0.

"He jumped all over my weak serves and didn't give me any real room to breathe," Jonas said. "He kept too much pressure on me the entire match."

The Judges didn't fare much better against the University of Chicago. Jonas provided the lone spark for the team, defeating Maroons senior Ward Bortz, the No. 21 player in Division III, 7-5, 6-3. Jonas allowed Bortz to pull even at 5-5 in the first set, but he broke Bortz's serve in the very next game to take control of the first set and of the match.

"I played a really steady match and just wore him down," Jonas said. "By the end of the match, he could barely stand up."

Jordan Bieber '07 lost a nail-bitter to Chicago sophomore Sasha Deriy at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3. Cliff Silverman '07, Hart Comess-Daniels '06 and Derek Tessler '09 each lost in straight sets at No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 singles.

The Judges tried to rebound later in the day against Case Western, but tired legs led to another defeat. Jonas again scored the lone victory for the Judges, defeating Spartan sophomore Joseph Smetona 6-1, 7-5. Bieber and Scott Schulman '09 each fell behind early and ran out of gas in straight-set losses.

Jonas said he was encouraged by his play in the tournament after a challenging season. After winning the UAA Player of the Year award just one year ago, Jonas struggled to regain his form this spring following off-season shoulder surgery, but closed the year strongly with a 2-1 record at the UAAs.

"I feel like I'm back," Jonas said.

Lamanna said that the approach Jonas was forced to take this year due to his injury would help improve his game in the future.

"He was forced to play a more defensive game right off the bat, and I think that makes him better," Lamanna said. "If you win games and sets by starting every point on the defensive, you're doing a really good job of battling."

The women's team was also hampered by injuries, entering the UAA tournament without No. 1 singles player Jen Krueger '07, who was sidelined with a stress fracture and No. 6 singles player Jenicka Hornung '07.

"It forced people to have to play in a spot they weren't used to," captain Shani Reich '06 said.

The shorthanded Judges lost their first two matches, 6-3 to Chicago and 5-2 to the University of Rochester, before sweeping Case Western 5-0 in the final consolation round to claim seventh place. Colleen Donnelly '08 and Ana Katz '08 finished with 2-1 and 3-0 records at No. 1 and No. 3 singles in the UAAs.

Despite disappointing finishes for the men's and women's teams this season, Lamanna said he is happy with the foundation laid in his first season as coach.

"We framed this year as a changing of the culture of the program, from the way we think to the way we train and ultimately compete," he said. "This is the low point for us, but it doesn't feel like it, because we think we got a lot better.