Schwarz, Tennis Team End With Pride

Author: Alex Meditz

As the men's tennis regular season rolls to a conclusion, the Middlebury squad finds itself in an unfamiliar yet well deserved position — ranked among the top four in the region, the top 15 in the country and looking at its first ever berth in the NCAA tournament. This weekend's NESCAC finals proved to be no exception to the success the team has enjoyed. It showed beyond a doubt that the bar has been raised above past seasons.

Much of the success can be attributed to second-year Middlebury coach, David Schwarz, who was voted the 2002 NESCAC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year. "The fact that he received this honor during his second year at Middlebury says a lot about his abilities as a coach and as a person," said first-year Justin Ingoglia. The team as a whole finished this weekend's tournament with 19.5 points, putting it in third place behind Williams with 31 points and Bowdoin with 22. It proved to be a giant step up from previous seasons and clearly placed Middlebury amidst the traditional tennis powers in the region.

Every Middlebury player was highly seeded in his draw and automatically advanced to the quarterfinals. Four of the team's six singles players, Steve Hulce '03.5 in the "B" flight, Matt Dougherty '02 in the "C" flight, Alex Meditz '05 in the "E" flight and Stuart Brown '04 in the "F" flight, advanced to the semifinals. Ingoglia lost in a tight battle to Bowdoin in the "A" flight, as Andrew Jacobi '05 fell to Amherst in the "D" flight. Both men, however, rebounded to pull out two more victories and win the back draw of their flights.

With the day only half over, the players quickly changed gears and began their quarterfinals doubles matches. All three Middlebury teams, Dougherty and Hulce, Brown and Ingoglia and Jacobi and doubles specialist Rick Jamgochian '03, advanced to the semifinals. In the "A" flight, Dougherty and Hulce, seeded fourth, pulled out a grueling three-set win over top seeded Tufts 6-7, 7-5, 7-5 to advance to the finals. In the "B" flight, Brown and Ingoglia lost to Bowdoin 6-4 6-1, but Jacobi and Jamgochian cruised past their Bates opponents 6-4, 6-2 to gain a berth in the "C" flight finals.

The next day proved slightly less successful for the Panthers, as rain forced the action indoors. Hulce, Dougherty and Meditz who were the first three players on the court fell to their respective opponents from Tufts, Bowdoin and Bates. The matches were all close and well fought. "They just didn't go our way," said Jacobi. Brown, however, after winning the first set and losing the second in his semifinal match, pulled out a victory over his Bowdoin opponent for the second time this year to advance to the "F" flight finals where he ultimately lost to a game Williams opponent 2-6, 3-6. In doubles action, Jacobi and Jamgochian also fell in the finals to the Ephs 6-1, 6-3.

The highlight of the tournament, however, came from team captains Dougherty and Hulce, who, in a marathon match for the ages, triumphed over their Bowdoin adversaries, winning the "A" flight and gaining a spot in this year's NCAA doubles tournament in California. After leading the first set 5-2, they were overcome and lost it in a tiebreaker 3-7. The veterans then battled back, capturing the second 6-3. In the deciding set it was the pair from Middlebury that proved more resilient by winning 6-3 and closing out the match two sets to one. The win is the second NESCAC doubles title for Hulce who won the "B" flight with Matt Rymzo '01 in 2000. Both Dougherty and Hulce were named to the 2002 all-NESCAC Men's Tennis Team for number-one doubles.

The squad's success in the NESCAC tournament should give the Panthers the momentum and confidence they need for the postseason. In two weeks, the team will most likely go to Bowdoin to play the first round of the NCAA tournament. If all goes well, it will then travel to Santa Cruz, Calif., to play the final rounds.