Both the Middlebury men’s and women’s tennis teams hit the courts this past weekend on Sept. 25-27 in the USTA/ITA New England Regional tennis tournaments. The men’s team traveled down to Williams College for the weekend, while the ladies stayed home for a beautiful weekend on campus.
Due to ITA seedings and draws, a select amount of players from both teams played in the tournament. For the men’s team, Noah Farrell ’18, Ari Smolyar ’16, Allen Jackson ’16, Palmer Campbell ’16, Timo van der Geest ’18 and William de Quant ’18 all saw action.
Smolyar, the fourth seed in the tournament, moved to the quarterfinals before losing to Luke Tercek of Bowdoin College on Saturday. Jackson won his first two matches of the tournament, also moving on to day two, until he was defeated by Steven Chen of Wesleyan in the round of 16 (3-6, 6-0, 6-2). Van der Geest moved on with his fellow Panthers to day two as well, before losing in the round of 16. DeQuant and Campbell also stood victorious in their first matches before losing in the round of 32.
Sophomore Noah Farrell ’18 left Williams Sunday afternoon after winning six straight matches capturing the 2015 USTA/ITA Singles Men’s Tennis Regional Championship. Farrell will move onto the Small College Championships at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina Oct. 15-18. The rest of the team will see action next at the Wallach Invitational at Bates College Oct. 9-10.
Back in the Green Mountain State, however, things did not go as well for the Middlebury women’s team. In the singles tournament, three Middlebury players moved on to day two: Lily Bondy ’17, Catherine Miller ’19, and Christina Puccinelli ’19. Miller fell in the quarterfinals to Amherst’s Vickie Ip (6-2, 7-6 (4)), while Puccinelli lost to Victoria Yu of Wesleyan (6-3, 6-1).
In the next round, Lily Bondy advanced to play Yu in the semifinals Sunday morning. After two three set match victories Saturday, fans saw Bondy’s heroics cease, and she fell (6-4, 6-2). Other Panthers also played this weekend; after losing their first matches, Molly Paradies ’19, Lauren Amos ’16 and Sadie Shackleford ’16 all picked up wins.
Though the weekend did not go as well as the Middlebury women’s team would have liked, Amos, a four-year contributor for the Panthers, thought there was reason to remain optimistic.
“I actually thought we had a strong showing at the ITA’s,” Amos said. “Our freshman class has proven to be very talented and we are excited to see how their addition will impact our season.”
In addition to the three new first-years on the team, Middlebury lost only one graduating senior from last year and Amos has high expectations for her squad.
“I think our three new members have the ability to take this program to a new level,” said Amos. “Our goal is to win a national championship. Two of my three years here we’ve made it to the Elite Eight. It’s my last year now, and I’m ready to make it all the way. This fall, we’re making the necessary preparations to finally make it all the way.”
See Amos, the first-year trio, and the rest of the Middlebury women’s team take the court again in two weeks when they host the annual Middlebury Invitational Oct. 9-11.
