Senior-freshman doubles pair make impact in men’s tennis debut

Senior Harry Cohen, left, and freshman Alex Granados, right, won their first doubles match at Chapman over Biola University March 12. Photos courtesy of Larry Newman

Two wildly different, tumultuous journeys landed Harry Cohen and Alex Granados as doubles partners on Chapman men’s tennis. But ultimately, both found themselves 6-2 winners in their first match as Chapman athletes against Biola University. 

“I’ve gotten a lot of experience adapting to new environments,” Cohen said. “By now, I’ve played at every college level (Division I, II and III), which is funny, but it’s given me that expertise to come play in a new place.”

For Cohen, a senior communication studies major who grew up in Malibu, it took a four-year trip around the country at various universities to eventually return to his Southern Californian roots at Chapman. He spent time his freshman year at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, then moved to play his sophomore and junior seasons at Sonoma State University in Northern California. But when Sonoma State cut its tennis program, Cohen found Chapman to be the best option if he wanted to play his senior year.

“A big part of my schooling has always been tennis,” Cohen said. “Sonoma State lost all funding for the tennis team and I’d always heard great things about Chapman — the school and tennis team.”

Granados, meanwhile, first found comfort in the swing of a racket in his hometown of Mazatlan, Mexico, about 1,200 miles south of Chapman. But after moving to Austin, Texas, it was in his junior year of high school at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School when things got serious. 

“I was playing back in Mexico, but I wasn’t focused on playing in college,” Granados said. “When I went to Texas, I started playing a lot more.”

The two’s shared passion for tennis, despite their differing backgrounds, have allowed for strong chemistry as a doubles unit, which head coach Will Marino said he saw right out of the gate in their first match.

“They came out pretty strong right at first,” Marino said. “They’ve been getting along really well. Doubles is hard; you have to not just be good players, but get along with each other as well. Everything is looking great for them.”

Harry Cohen, right, and Alex Granados, left, celebrate after winning a point during their March 12 match at Biola University.

In particular, Cohen was named the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week March 15 after not only winning the doubles match with Granados against Biola, but also taking home a singles win with scores of 7-6 and 6-1. 

The duo looked to take the chemistry and momentum from their first match into a March 17 bout against Azusa Pacific University, but fell 6-1. As of March 21, Azusa Pacific ranks tied for seventh out of all NCAA Division II schools in the nation. However, they look forward to their next match to build more synergy.

“We’ve just been playing together for two weeks at practice,” Granados said. “But we have really good chemistry on the court. We can coordinate really well playing doubles.”

With important conference games to be played in the coming months — four against rival California Lutheran University — the duo looks to continue playing out the string. 

“Honestly, I’ve just been having a lot of fun on the team,” Granados said. “I’m looking forward to continuing that against (California Lutheran) and hopefully (into) nationals.”