ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT Men's Tennis team resumes its 2025-26 season on Saturday (Feb. 7) at Rochester. Here are six things you need to know about this year's team, coached by eighth-year head coach Tom Linhart.  
 
Last Season
RIT finished 9-9 in dual matches in 2024-25, including five Liberty League wins. The Tigers qualified for the Liberty League Tournament with a third-place finish in conference play. RIT beat Ithaca 4-3 in the first round of the tournament before a loss to Hobart in the semifinals. The Tigers returns eight players from the 2024-25 squad, including Liberty League Rookie of the Year Yu Tanimoto.
 
Back in the Fall…
The Tigers competed in two fall tournaments. Senior Gabriel Escobar won the "D" Singles flight and Escobar, and junior Luke Weber won the "B" Doubles flight at the St. Lawrence Fall Classic. Sophomores Yu Tanimoto and Alexander Sinclair advanced to the quarterfinals at the ITA Northeast Championship. The Tigers went 3-0 in dual matches with wins over Daemen, Nazareth and St. John Fisher.
 
A Mix of Veterans and Newcomers
RIT features eight veterans and five newcomers on the roster this spring. Escobar and juniors Anthony Lounder, Alec Trucotte, Ben Walerstein and Weber and sophomores Tyler Mitrovic, Sinclair and Tanimoto anchor the lineup. Linhart brought in five talented first year players in Anjann Sai Bharadwaj Boorela, Evan Ly, Greg and Trent Sauer and Nikko Tuxford.
"This is probably the deepest team we have ever had," said Linhart. "That depth is going to give us some flexibility that we have not had and will help us stay healthy over the course of the season. 
 
Singles
Escobar recorded a 6-0 record in singles in the fall, while Tanimoto posted a 5-2 record. Ly went 4-2 while Mitrovic and Sinclair each posted 4-1 records in the fall.
"It is exciting to see how high the ceiling is for these guys," said Linhart. "We have players that could fit in any spot in our lineup and the ability to move players around and match up with teams is going to be incredibly important this Spring. With that depth and difference in game style, it is going to be an exciting season."
 
Doubles
Escobar and Weber went 6-0 in doubles in the fall and Sinclair and Tanimoto were 5-2. Turcotte and Ly recorded a 4-2 record in doubles this past fall.
 
"We have a lot of options in terms of parings at doubles," said Linhart. "The ability to match up our young talent with veteran leadership is going to be crucial for us. Even with the new rule change regarding doubles it is still a big part of gaining momentum in a match and we believe we will be a tough team to take down on the doubles end of the court"
 
Schedule
RIT begins the spring season at Rochester (Feb. 7) followed by a home match against Oneonta (Feb. 8).

The Tigers will play at No. 24 Christopher Newport (Feb. 13), at No. 34 Averett the following day (Feb. 14) and closes out February with a match at St. Lawrence (Feb. 28).

March begins with a pair of road matches at The College of New Jersey (March 7) and at No. 27 NYU (March 8). RIT plays at Skidmore (March 22) before returning home to host No. 20 RPI (March 28).

The Tigers travel to No. 5 Case Western Reserve (April 4) before a home match against Hobart (April 9). RIT hits the road for a pair of Liberty League matches at Union (April 12) and at Ithaca (April 15). The Tigers close out the regular season with a pair of home matches against Vassar (April 18) and Bard (April 19).