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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Women’s Tennis Unable to Clinch Win

 

The Middlebury women’s tennis team welcomed a pair of nationally ranked teams this past weekend, including 19th-ranked Skidmore and top-ranked Amherst. They came away with one win, relentlessly defeating Skidmore 9-0 on Saturday, April 27, but suffered a marginal loss of 5-4 to the Amherst Lord Jeffs on Sunday, April 28.

Middlebury’s dominant win over Skidmore advanced their record to 10-4. The match began with the Panthers taking all three doubles points. This marked the seventh time this season that they have grabbed all doubles matches. Brittney Faber ’13 and Leah Kepping ’13 – currently ranked sixth in the Northeast – won handily over fourth ranked Nataly Mendoza and Lee Ford by a score of 8-1. Lok Sze Leung ’15 and Ria Gerger ’16 defeated their opposition 8-2 while Margot Marchese ’16 and Lauren Amos ’16 edged out an 8-6 victory.

The singles match wins were straightforward, as Middlebury did not lose a set in all six positions. Katie Paradies ’15 steamed to a 6-0, 6-1 stomping of her opponent at the no. 6 position while Dorrie Paradies ’14 gave up only one more game than her sister, ending the match 6-1, 6-1.

The Panthers’ next match was bound to be a tough one, as they have not lost a Division III match this year. Amherst took two of the three doubles matches, securing wins at the no. 1 and 3 positions. Faber and Kepping’s 8-3 loss came to the number-one-ranked team in the Northeast. Amherst’s Devlin has won the past two individual doubles national championships with two different partners, so this was a good test for the Middlebury pair. Leung and Gerger weathered a back and forth fight, eventually serving out their match 8-6. This win was a major step forward for the Panther women. The no. 3 position of Marchese and Amos fell to their Lord Jeff opponents 8-1.

Coming out of doubles, Middlebury needed four out of the six singles points to defeat the Lord Jeffs. They just barely missed this mark, coming away with just three wins.

Kepping gave Middlebury its first singles point, quickly finishing off 24th-ranked Sue Ghosh 6-2, 6-1. Currently first place in the Northeast, Leung counter-punched her way to Middlebury’s second singles point as she took down hard-hitting and second ranked Jordan Brewer 6-4, 6-3.

Gerger, currently sitting at number eight in the region, went the distance and upset seventh ranked Jennifer Newman 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.  After losing the first set 6-1, Gerger did not show negativity, but instead an impressive amount of positive energy. In the second set, Gerger started to attack Newman’s serve, allowing her to be more in control of the match. Even though Middlebury won at positions one through three, they lost at positions four through six, with Marchese, Paradies ’14, and Faber all losing in straight sets.

Despite the loss, attitudes are positive heading forward.

“As the season has progressed, the team has really become one unit,” said Marchese. “When we improve and move forward the 10 of us do it together, and we can feel it. We all have a few kinks in our game and we are doing what we can to iron those out in order to bring our best tennis to NESCACs. We are confident in the intensity and ability that we possess and can’t wait to prove it to the rest of the NESCAC teams this coming May. If we continue to play the way we have recently, with the same fire, the rest should take care of itself.”

The Panthers head to Amherst College this coming weekend to compete in the NESCAC championships and will play in their first match on Friday. The result of the tournament will be instrumental for NCAA regional host selection.


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