Men's tennis triumphs in NESCAC championship

Author: Martin Breu

The Panthers are once again top dog in NESCAC tennis, taking their fifth title in six years this past weekend. Middlebury cruised past last year's champion, Bowdoin College, 5-1 on Saturday. Sunday was a rematch of last weekend's game against always-tough Amherst. While at times the Panthers looked to be out of the match, Middlebury prevailed to take a 5-3 win and the NESCAC title.

Middlebury earned the number one ranking and a first-round bye for the tournament with their exciting win over Amherst in the last match of regular season play. Men's tennis had enjoyed great success in NESCACs in the past, taking four consecutive titles from 2004-2007.

The Panthers started their weekend with their semifinal match against Bowdoin, seeded fourth going into the match. Middlebury was looking to avenge their loss to Bowdoin in the finals of the NESCAC tournament last year in a hard-fought 5-4 match.

The Panthers got things started off right by taking two of the three doubles matches. The shake-up in the doubles teams that occurred a couple weeks ago continued to pay dividends for men's tennis when both number two and three doubles teams picked up wins. David Farah '12 and tri-captain Andrew Thompson '10 fought hard on the first court, but eventually lost 8-5.

When the match switched over to singles, Middlebury kept the early momentum going and rolled over Bowdoin, taking four of six singles games. Tri-captain Andrew Lee '10 and Andrew Peters '11 were particularly impressive, dispatching their opponents in straight sets by scores of 6-1, 6-4 and 6-1, 6-1, respectively. Thompson clinched the match for the Panthers with his 7-5, 6-1 win on the second court.

"It felt really great [to avenge] our loss to Bowdoin in NESCAC's last year," said Lee. He added, "[Bowdoin is] always a strong team, but everyone came out with a lot of energy and took care of business."

With the victory, the Panthers moved into the finals of the tournament for a showdown with second-seeded Amherst. Sunday's match started off poorly for the top-ranked Panthers when they fell behind 1-2 after the doubles matches. Only an epic 9-8(3) performance by Farah and Thompson to win number one doubles kept the Panthers in the match; last weekend, Farah and Thompson had been flattened 8-2 by the same Amherst team.

"Farah really had a great performance in a huge match," said Thompson of his partner, adding, "[Farah] and I beat a team that absolutely dusted us the previous weekend."

When the match switched over to singles, it was an unfamiliar name that restored the Panthers' confidence and turned the tide of the match. Junior Elliot Jia '10 was new to the lineup this match, but jumped into his number six singles game with confidence and won 6-1, 6-2. This quick game tied the match at two points apiece, and helped to boost the Panthers.

"We were pretty down after doubles," admitted Lee, "but everyone came to fight and it showed."

Peters also played very well to take a 6-2, 6-2 victory on court four and put Middlebury in the lead. Peters has played stellar tennis all year, and is undefeated in seventeen matches at number four singles for the Panthers.

While Amherst tied the match at three with Thompson's loss at number two singles, Middlebury answered right back with Lee's number three victory 6-2, 7-5. The title now came down to the games on courts one and five - tri-captain Conrad Olson '09 and Peter Odell '10 - respectively. Both games had gone to three sets, and both Middlebury players were trailing initially.

It was Olson who would seal the match and the NESCAC title for Middlebury. Fighting an ankle injury and a talented opponent, Olson came back from 4-1 down in the third set to force the game into a tiebreaker. Despite facing four match points against him, Olson took the crucial victory 10-8 in the tiebreak.

"Conrad's herculean effort was just flat out impressive to watch," said Thompson, adding, "it was fitting that our team leader got to be the one to secure the NESCAC title for us."

Winning the NESCAC title satisfied one of the Panther's goals for the season, but they aren't finished yet. Their win guarantees them a spot in the upcoming NCAA tournament that the Panthers haven't won since 2004. The Panthers' string of victories and ability to win crucial games seem to have given them confidence in their abilities.

"I'm excited to see how we perform at the NCAA tournament", said Thompson. "After a couple of nice wins this weekend, our team is definitely hungry for more."