This weekend’s tournament at Williams College proved to be a challenging early season test for the Panthers, coming off a week of rest and a glowing set of victories at the Middlebury Invitational. The men’s squad made significant runs in both the singles and doubles brackets, but no Panther was able to capture a title amidst tough competition from other NESCAC schools.
The tournament’s number one seed, the Panthers’ own Andy Peters ’11, advanced in impressive fashion to the semifinals after coming off a straight set title run at the Middlebury Invitational. In the semis he met Matt Bettles of Bates, a player that he downed just two weeks earlier, but Peters was unable to strike on some key points and ended up falling to Bettles 7-5, 7-6 (2). Bettles would go on to lose to Williams’ Felix Sun for the title. Derrick Angle ’12, Chris Schlabach ’13 and Teddy Fitzgibbons ’14 all advanced to the round of 16, racking up a pair of victories each before being ousted by various other competitors.
In doubles play, Brantner Jones ’14 teamed up with Andy Peters ’11 and made a promising run to the semifinals before losing 8-3 to the Amherst duo of Kahan and Rattenhuber. Jeronimo Riefkohl ’11 and Mike Malhame ’11 also made an impressive dash to the quarterfinals, where they were ousted by Williams’ Chow and Micheli by a score of 8-3.
“Overall it was a fantastic tournament,” said Williams head coach Greenburg, obviously excited by Sun’s victory in the singles tournament. “We were lucky with the weather and fortunate to have the best players from seventeen New England schools compete on campus. It was a privilege to host.”
As for the Panthers, the lack of a title at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tournament does not mean the end of their season. Rather, the tough semi-final losses are bound to send the squad firing on all cylinders at next weekend’s Dartmouth Invitational.
“It was great to see the competition and realize where we are in the mix,” said head coach Rob Barr to his team. “We’ve got a lot of work to do between now and March. If we can continue to improve our games, I think we can make another strong run.” These encouraging words from Coach Barr have left the team hopeful about the future.
“This weekend was a good test for us,” offered Zach Bruchmiller ’14 . “We know where we stand now and we know what we have to do to improve. I think fans can expect a great showing at next weekend’s tournament.”
The Panthers are not a team to dwell on a non-exemplary performance. Expect great things next weekend and in the tournaments to come.
Men’s tennis faces strong competition at ITA event
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