Men's tennis still faultless at 6-0

Author: Eri Nosaka

While most of the student body was on Spring Break, the Middlebury men's tennis team was working hard on the west coast where they practiced and competed against some local tennis teams. Despite the climate and court differences, the Panthers still managed to have an accomplished week.

The team won against Cal-Lutheran University, Claremont College and Chapman University and lost against Vanguard University. Due to adverse weather conditions they were unable to play against Occidental and Santa Cruz.

Their wins against the Californian teams were extremely helpful in both the team's record and confidence. Two years ago Middlebury College lost to Cal-Lutheran before winning against them over the break.

The Panthers' most important win this week was against Claremont College. Their success against Claremont College is a big achievement with Claremont ranked top five in the nation. Middlebury's win gives a strong indication of the success that the tennis team can expect.

Despite an unfortunate loss against Vanguard, it did not hurt the rankings or record for the Middlebury tennis team because Vanguard was a non-league match. However, it allowed for players who do not normally play in the usual lineup to gain some experience.

"I would not say anyone in particular stood out because everybody played really well. We didn't show too many weaknesses which is great and the team is progressing well," said Captain Ari Beilin '06. Cal-Lutheran is a good team and it is in the top 25 so it was good to get a win in against them. We had to get used to the conditions and we played really well against them. It was a bummer that we did not get to play against Santa Cruz because they are always a good team to play. Claremont has a good team, but I think we were pretty psyched up because we couldn't against Santa Cruz."

Next week the tennis team faces Dartmouth College and Tufts University. In past years Middlebury has lost to Dartmouth. On April 7, they will play Tufts University. Tufts has one of the stronger NESCAC teams so the match may be a good indication of what is to come for the Middlebury Men's Tennis team.