Smyser '08, Haar '10 snag Invite

Author: Robbie de Picciotto

The women's tennis team hosted the Middlebury Invitational doubles tournament this past weekend. NESCAC rivals Bowdoin and Conn. College and non-conference opponent Brandeis University all made the trip to Vermont for the two-day competition held on the newly-resurfaced Proctor tennis courts.

"Open" players with no affiliation to any of these schools were also allowed to enter the tournament, giving the event a unique and unusual twist.

The tournament format made for an exciting affair. It divided the 16 competing teams into four groups, which allowed each pairing to play three matches on Saturday, Sept. 29 in a round-robin style.

"We received a lot of positive feedback from all the players that participated and it was a really fun weekend of tennis," said Jamie Haar '10.

Sunday featured the winners of each group dueling it out in the semifinals to bring home the trophy. The Panthers found great success on day one, with Haar and Claire Smyser '08 going 3-0, while teammate Annie Weinberg '10 linked up with "open" player Emily Holick '07 to match Haar and Smyser with a 3-0 victory of their own.

Haar and Smyser continued their success on Sept. 30, defeating Rachel Waldman and Brett Davis of Bowdoin in the finals to win the title without dropping a set in any of their five matches.

"Claire and I worked really well together and were able to dominate Bowdoin in the finals," said Haar. "But more importantly, we have a really close team and all love playing together."

To make the Invitational a true Middlebury community event, local youth tennis players were able to volunteer as ball boys and ball girls for the weekend.

"This participation made the tournament even better," said Haar.

The invitational was a great opportunity for the selected kids to watch college-level players compete, and the exceptional weather made for a fantastic weekend on the courts for everybody involved. Incorporating the kids brought the Invitational event to a new level, and certainly differentiated it from the standard grind of playing in the regular weekly tournaments.

The Middlebury team looks forward to putting on such a successful event again next fall that will once again bring the community together for a weekend of tennis.

With several members of the class of 2009 currently studying abroad, the women's tennis team has to make due without a few of its key players this fall. However, the short-handed squad will be reunited for the important spring season of NESCAC play.