As the Ivy season is fast approaching, get to know the dynamic doubles duo of the Cornell men's tennis team. Jeremy Feldman and Andy Gauthier, unanimous first-team All-Ivy League selection a year ago, come from different backgrounds but have aligning views on their team, coaching staff and each other. They talk about their personal interests, experiences on the team and aspirations for their final season playing for the Big Red.
How They Came to the Big Red
Jeremy Feldman
Feldman discovered his talents for the sport at his 10th birthday party. Between the cake and ice cream, the pros at his tennis-themed celebration watched Feldman play and determined he had natural ability. The Westchester, N.Y. native went on to take lessons and pursue the sport competitively, eventually ranking 110th nationally while in high school.
Although he looked primarily at southern colleges and universities, Feldman found his way to Cornell after hearing rave reviews from people close to him. Two of Feldman's former tennis coaches had experience with the Big Red and Jon Fife '10, former Big Red co-captain of the men's tennis team, was a childhood friend. With so much Big Red around him, it seems natural that Feldman would look into a transition to Ithaca.
An economics major in the College of Arts and Sciences, Feldman admits that the university's aesthetic appeal also played a large role in his decision to join the Big Red. “When I walked on the Arts quad, I thought 'Alright, I'm coming here!'”
Since then, he has had an outstanding career, not just in doubles but also in singles, as he became the first Cornell men's tennis player to be named Rookie of the Year in 2008. His favorite moment thus far came in 2009 after his team beat both Brown and Yale in one weekend. “It was the first time we were above .500 going into the last weekend of Ivy play since anyone could remember ... I've never seen a group of guys more pumped up,” he says.
However, this season Feldman hopes to make a new favorite memory: “I want to graduate with an Ivy League ring.”
The senior tri-captain, along with Andy Guathier and Jon Jaklitsch, is trying to make the most out of his last semester before graduation and entering the working world. He will hang up his racket and use his economics degree towards a career in New York City, working in Sales & Trading at Nomura.
Andy Gauthier
Gauthier picked up his first racket to keep active when he was seven years old. “My parents wanted me out of the house in the winter. As soon as the indoor soccer season was over they would say 'you have way too much energy, go find something else to do.'”
He dabbled in many other sports like water polo, basketball, swimming, “pretty much everything there was to do except football,” he says, but tennis was the sport that stuck.
Attending high school across the street from University of Michigan, Gauthier was looking for something different, a place where he could apply his interest in tennis, as well as tap into his academic calling, mechanical engineering. Cornell had several other engineers on the team when the Ann Arbor native arrived in Ithaca so he knew it was a perfect fit. Such a great fit in fact, Gauthier will pursue a master's degree in Engineering at Cornell after graduation, extending his education on the East Hill for another year.
One of Gauthier's favorite tennis moments thus far came when the Big Red beat Harvard last spring. The Crimson led, 2-1, when an adrenaline rush spread through the Big Red. “All of the sudden everything turned around and we steamrolled the Harvard guys the rest of the time,” he says.
Gauthier added that additional satisfaction came after the Harvard women's softball team was removed for causing too much of a raucous. “You're not allowed to talk during a point ... The ref had to go and talk to them and eventually kick them out because they were being too loud.”
Also a captain this season, Gauthier has had an impressive collegiate career as well. In addition to his doubles accolades with Feldman, he spent last season in the No. 1 spot for the Big Red in singles play and was named first-team All-Ivy. He too has high hopes for his last season with the Big Red. “The ultimate goal is to win the Ivy title.” Adding, “Another goal is to get one or two doubles teams and maybe a singles player into the NCAA tournament.”
Their thoughts on the team, coaches and each other.
Both players attribute their undefeated Ivy League record last season to their experience as a doubles team. “We seem to always mesh well ...We feed off of each other's energy,” Feldman explains. Gauthier also attributes their success to the experience they've gained from going through a reel of new coaches. “We've been through all sorts of regimes as far as doubles strategy and we've worked things out.” Both can also agree that they want this year's doubles season to be just as successful as the last.
Gauthier and Feldman both assent that new men's tennis head coach
Tony Bresky is taking the team to new heights. Feldman comments, “He has great expectations and great aspirations for Cornell tennis ... I wouldn't be shocked to see it as a top 25 program in the next five, six years.” Gauthier also noted that Coach Bresky has made huge improvements to their individual practices and scouting reports, commenting, “He knows a lot about tennis and how to coach each person individually. He knows almost every coach under the sun.”
Feldman and Gauthier also value the strong bonds they've made with the other three members of the senior class. Both players have recently enjoyed the time they've all spent together during away trips playing their new favorite road-trip game, Mafia. “Five people play. Four people get a king, one gets an ace and the ace is the Mafia. You have to talk to each other to figure out who is who,” Gauthier explains. According to Feldman, “There's a lot of lying going on.”
However, the doubles pair believes that the seniors are good at more than lying. “Everyone has been getting a lot better. This is probably our best team in history so far,” says Gauthier. Both also agree that the seniors set a high bar when it comes to work ethic. Feldman notes, “We all have the same mindset of bringing an Ivy League title back to Cornell. I think it's the hardest working group of guys that you'll find on a tennis team.” Gauthier reasons, “Everyone is really passionate about every match because it's our last time playing before we go out in the real world.”