Rackets on fire at Boston tourney

Author: Steve Beslow

After a sterling month, Middlebury men's tennis finished up its fall schedule with an unusual (and "friendly") match-up against Division I athletic powerhouses Boston College and Boston University. Middlebury showed serious toughness while taking on BU, claiming 11 of the 12 contests. The BC Eagles proved much more difficult opponents for the Panthers, taking 10 of the 12 friendly matches.

Boston College swept the singles action, although there were some well contested matches - five of the seven ties went to three sets. A few three-setters included BC's Brian Hartness taking down Salih Unsal '08(5-7, 6-3, 10-8), Michael Reiser defeating Kevin Bergesen '07 (4-6, 6-3, 10-4) and Matt Rales' '06 tough loss to Geoff Mueller (6-1, 6-7, 10-6). Also going the distance were Fil Marinkovic '08 who was nipped by Zach Wolfe (5-7, 6-3, 10-8) and George Mayer '07, who lost a marathon match to Sam Wagner (6-3, 2-6, 11-9).

Showing off their depth, the Panthers answered back in the doubles matches, splitting the four contests with the equally competent Eagles players. Captains Brian Waldron '06 and Ari Beilin '06 took down BC's Kesthely and Wagner 8-4, while Mayer and Unsal defeated Rastorgouev and Mueller by the same score. Matching the singles finishes, both of Middlebury's doubles losses were incredibly close. Bergesen and Marinkovic lost to Sechrist and Hartness 9-7, while the Eagles' Reiser and Wolfe eked out a victory over Unsal and Oldenberg '06 9-8.

Not joining the Panthers in Massachusetts was captain Nate Edmunds '06, who was in Fort Myers, Fla., competing in the singles portion of the ITA National Small College Tennis Championships. After breaking through the quarterfinals with a 6-0, 7-6 victory, Edmunds was tripped up in the semis, falling in three sets to Matt Seeberger of UC Santa Cruz 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

With the fall season in the rearview mirror, the Panthers are already gearing up for an inspired spring campaign. With a stronger start to the season than the past two years, both of which yielded NCAA Finals births (including the National Title in 2004) there is little doubt that Middlebury's men's tennis team has a great year on the horizon. The Panthers will return to action with their first match in March.