Bracket Challenge Winner: Brenton Arnaboldi

Hello again, boys and girls, and welcome to the first installment of Interviews stemming from our Bracket Challenges! First up is Mr. Brenton Arnaboldi. Amidst some conspiracy theories, B-Money won the Singles Bracket Challenge. There will some complaints from the nay-sayers out there, but B-Dawg followed the rules and won the damn thing fair and square. For those of you that have no idea what I’m talking about, check back later this week. B-Nasty has taken a few minutes of his very busy schedule to answer a few of my questions. Enjoy the interview, and check back later in the week for further interviews.

1) Ok, let’s be honest here, how much f***ing fun was it to be at NCAAs last week?

Yeah, NCAAs were an absolute blast! Watching the guys play gutsy, tenacious tennis really psyched me up. (After three days of nonstop yelling and cheering, my vocal chords were utterly strained.) Our team competed unbelievably hard at NCAAs, and to prevail over CMS on their home courts felt so rewarding, particularly after they knocked us out of the tournament last year.

2) Run us through your emotions during the Finals?

After a stressfree win over Emory in the Elite 8, Trinity (TX) forced us to dig deep in the Final Four. When we went down 0-3 after doubles (losing two tiebreakers in the process), it felt very similar to our semifinal loss to CMS in 2013, when we also dropped two tiebreakers. At the start of singles, I was optimistic we could come back, but became increasingly anxious as Trinity took three first sets and was up 5-2 at No. 4. However, our team battled extremely hard in the face of adversity. I was so fired up watching Solimano, Reindel, Zykov and Yaraghi elevate their games after rough starts. The best moment from the match was Solimano’s forehand passing shot to save match point at 4-5 in the 3rd set…when he hit that shot, I screamed so loud my head started to hurt.

The NCAA final against CMS was a bloodbath. We lost to CMS 6-3 earlier in the season, but that was without an injured Solimano in the singles lineup. After the resilient performance against Trinity, I felt good about our chances in the final. CMS came out really strong in doubles, and we were all relieved when Solimano/Dale pulled out a point at No. 3 doubles. After falling 0-3 the previous day, the 1-2 deficit seemed very manageable.

When Joey clinched the match at No. 1, I started jumping like a little kid (if you watch the NCAA highlights video, I’m the one jumping on the left during the celebration). My teammates and I were in a state of pure ecstasy. Everyone dreams about winning a national championship, it’s something that the team works toward all year, it’s why everyone on the team pushes themselves to do extra lifting, sprint workouts and timed mile runs during the dreary New England winter. To see that dream fulfilled was a priceless experience.

3) Given how much time you’ve spent with the other guys in your grade, tell the readers something we might not know about each of Amherst’s graduating seniors?

When he wasn’t obliterating opponents on the tennis court, Joey Fritz wrote a senior thesis on Self-Immolation Protests in Tibet. (In recent years, hard-core Tibetan dissenters have burned themselves to death to protest Chinese oppression, acheiving martyrdom status in the process.) Chris Dale is going into Investment Banking next year, and he’s one of the few guys I’ve met who are genuinely interested in finance. Good thing he’s making money next year, he has some serious debts to pay after losing innumerable ping-pong matches to Surain Asokaraj, Luis Rattenhuber and others. Justin Reindel is easliy the most fiery guy on the team, hence his nickname “Diesel”. He leads our pregame huddle before each match. As an freshman and sophomore, Diesel was a big partier, but during senior spring season he stayed dry in order to focus on tennis. His discipline and passion for the program were unbelievable and much-admired.

Moving on to the “scrubs”, Karan Bains was one of four early inductees into Amherst’s Phi Beta Kappa Society (for high GPA), Justin Hendrix sings a cappella and is working at Bain & Co. next year, while I won the NCAA Bracket challenge. So we’re certainly not slouches.

4) Just for good measure, give me your best off-court Joey Fritz impersonation?

An impersonation? Um…I don’t really know what to say here. Off the court, Joey is extremely conscientious and detail-oriented. He’s joked that his dream job would be as an office secretary, color-coding documents and organizing schedules…

5) A bit more personal, how does it feel to be taking off the Amherst Uniform for good?

It’s really tough, the tennis team has been a huge part of my experience at Amherst over the past four years. When I first arrived at Amherst, I initially tried out as a walk-on for the soccer team, but was promptly cut – in hindsight, this was a blessing in disguise. Garner was really nice to let me walk onto the team; as the 23rd-24th player on the depth chart, he easily could have cut me freshman year. It’s been an absolute privilege to be part of an elite program consistently battling for NCAA championships, and I’ll definitely miss being part of a dedicated, supportive and close-knit team.

7) How was it to play alongside your brother at times this year?

It was extremely fun! My brother was a freshman at Amhest this year, and given the age difference, we never played doubles before Amherst. We had a terrific run at the Bates Wallach Invitational in the fall, reaching the ‘B flight’ of the doubles. I’m probably the biggest “pusher” in the ‘CAC, so it was ironic to have a breakthrough tournament in doubles as opposed to singles. My brother is also more of a singles player, but we were really fired up to play together, and we brought tons of energy.

8) Give us some of the biggest similarities and differences between you and your brother?

Andrew is a big softie. But he’s better than me at tennis, which can be demoralizing as an older brother.

9) Was Michael Solimano the best kept secret in DIII this year or what?

Solimano was simply spectacular this season. For those who have never seen Solimano play, he is one of the rare serve-and-volleyers in D3 tennis. His excellent movement and soft hands enable him to dominate and close points at net. On the baseline, Solimano’s one-handed backhand is probably the prettiest shot in D3 tennis; he looks like Federer out there. Coming into NCAAs, he definitely flew under the radar, partly because he was pulled out from the CMS match back in March (which may have ultimately worked in our advantage, denying CMS a first look). But we all knew Mano could deliver in the clutch. The kid has balls of steel.

10) Other than hoisting the trophy this year, what were your best and worst moments over your 4-year career?

Aside from the 2011 National Championship (from freshman year), I’ll always remember the 5-4 win over Williams in 2013, when we overcame a 0-3 doubles deficit to stun our archrivals. Because of a few bad losses in the fall, we were ranked No. 18 at the time, so the victory over Williams was huge for our confidence. Amazingly, we’ve beaten Williams 5-4 in each of the past four regular season matchups, but the 2013 win was particuarly euphoric.

Worst moment was the 2012 quarterfinal loss to WashU; we were bigger NCAA favorites that year than CMS this year. Last season’s 5-4 NESCAC defeat to Williams was also brutal.

11) Favorite type of pizza from Antonio’s?

Chicken Bacon Ranch, hands down.

12) Where can I get a pair of Coach Garner’s white pants?

No comment…

13) What is the one piece of advice that you would give an incoming freshman?

If you’re sitting down, get up! On a serious note, it can be very tough for first-year students to adjust to a college environment, both from an academic and social perspective. This rocky transition can quickly and negatively impact tennis performance. For freshmen starting at Amherst (or a comparably rigorous institution), staying on top of non-tennis activities (coursework, social life) is extremely crucial in order to succeed on the tennis court. Stay organized and don’t waste time – four years go by very quickly!

14) What were your favorite things about/from The Blog this year?

I enjoyed some of the silly non-tennis references, particularly this gem from the NESCAC finals preview: “if Darth Vader wore white, he would bear a striking resemblance to Garner.” I mean, how on earth do you come up this material! Generally speaking, I was impressed with the explosion of content this year, and was particuarly happy to finally have a regional writer for the Northeast.