Second-Place Finish for Men's Tennis

Author: David Lindholm

The men's tennis team had lofty hopes for this weekend's New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) tournament, and came up just short of archrival Williams College. Despite the setback, the team has a high ranking in the upcoming NCAA tournament and have their sights on the same goal that it has had all year - to continue to improve their play until the season's end. However, if the team improves any further, a national title could be the result.
In the 11-team NESCAC tournament, the Panthers finished second, with 22 points, trailing the Ephs by seven. Bowdoin finished third with 18 points, and Tufts fifth with 15. The Panthers defeated all three of these teams in the regular season, with 4-3 victories over the Jumbos and Polar Bears, and a 6-1 thumping of the Ephs two weeks ago.
Once again it was the youth that led the Panthers, as two first-years, Nathan Edmunds at number two and Brian Waldron at three both won their brackets. In fact, these two players were the only Middlebury players to make it to the finals of their brackets, though many others came up just short. At number one, Justin Ingoglia '05 had the misfortune of meeting up with NESCAC Rookie of the Year William Boe-Wiegaard of Bates in the semifinal. Boe-Wiegaard took the first set in a tiebreak, but Ingoglia fought back to take the second set 7-5. However, the Bobcat took a narrow 6-4 victory in the deciding set, and then went on to earn the title of top player in NESCAC with a win over Colin Joyner of Bowdoin in the final.
Steve Hulce '03 and Jeff Oldenburg '06 also came up just short of making the finals at their positions, losing close matches in the fifth and sixth brackets, respectively. Another first-year star, Ari Beilin, had a surprising loss to Trinity Bantam Scott Levy in the semifinal at number four.
In doubles, Oldenburg and Ingoglia teamed up well to advance to the finals of the number two bracket, but fell to a strong Bowdoin team once there. Williams took the other two doubles championships, and with wins at four, five and six in singles were able to earn their tenth straight NESCAC title.
The Panthers have continued to improve on last year's performances, and they hope to continue that trend at they host an NCAA New England Regional match in only the second time the team has qualified for the tournament. Bates will face up against Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday, and then the Panthers will face the winner on Sunday at 1 p.m.