Men's Tennis

The men’s tennis team opens its season this weekend with matches against Oneonta, Brandeis and Connecticut College.
Twelve members from last year’s national championship winning team return this season, though only one starter from that team remains. Among those who won’t be returning for the 2011 season is former head coach Dave Schwarz who left after last year’s national championship season to become the head tennis coach at Brown University.
Last year’s assistant coach Rob Barr takes over for Schwarz this season and inherits a talented team with high expectations set for itself.
“Winning the national championship was an incredible feat,” Barr said. “We all learned so much from that experience, exactly what it takes to get to the title match and the courage, maturity and discipline they must demonstrate to win another. This year’s team has high expectations, but we will take match by match. Our main goal is to improve every day.”
The 2011 Panthers team includes five first-year players who were part of a successful fall season for the Panthers. The highlight of the fall was the Middlebury Invitational tournament, which the Panthers dominated. Senior Andy Peters ’11 won the “A” singles flight while first-year players Teddy Fitzgibbons ’14 and Brantner Jones ’14 won the B and C brackets respectively. Senior Mike Malhame ’11 capped off the singles sweep for the Panthers as he won the “D” flight for singles. On the doubles side, William Oberrender ’13 and Alec Parower ’13 were victors in the Doubles “B” flight.
“Our impressive results this fall season really showed me who was ready to step up and make a significant contribution to this year’s starting line-up,” said Barr. “We have five very talented freshman on this year’s squad and all have shown they are capable of making an impact.”
With a bona fide top singles player in Andy Peters, as well as twelve returning players from last year’s national championship team, and a strong first-year class, this Panthers team is primed for a great year.