Men’s tennis sees fall success continue into spring season

The men’s tennis team began its defense of its 2010 National Championship season with three wins this weekend against Oneonta, Brandeis, and Connecticut College. The Panthers dropped just one match of a possible 27 over the weekend sweeping Oneonta State and Connecticut College 9-0, while downing Brandeis 8-1.
Tenth-ranked player Andy Peters ’11, a tri-captain of the team, won two first singles matches over the weekend beating Oneonta’s Michael Kennelly 6-1, 6-0 and Brandeis’ Simon Miller 7-6(4), 6-1 on Saturday before teaming up with Eric Vehovec ’12 in the first doubles match against Connecticut College, where the upperclassmen tandem aced Trevor Prophet and George King 8-0.
As the only returning starter from last year’s team, Peters is ready to carry his team to a repeat performance. When asked what his goal for the season was, Peters stated, “To win another team title. I also would like to win NCAA singles and doubles titles, but those goals are very minor when compared to the overall goal of repeating.”
The challenges of winning a national championship are different this year, however. After graduating eight seniors from the 2009-2010 team, the Panthers will need to reload this year rather than rebuild with so many new faces.
“We are certainly much less experienced than last year’s team,” Peters concedes, “but the talent and work ethic are very comparable. We worked incredibly hard in the off-season and we continue to work hard in practice. We lost many strong contributors from last year’s team, but we have put ourselves in a great position to have another championship caliber season.”

The Panthers swept all nine doubles matches over the weekend while dropping just three singles sets over the weekend. In the team’s first match with Oneonta, the Panthers lost just 10 games in nine matches.
The lone loss over the weekend came from the second singles match against Brandeis when the Judges Nick White defeated first-year player Zach Bruchmiller ’14 of Middlebury 6-4, 6-4.
Bruchmiller rounded out an otherwise successful weekend with a dominant victory in his second singles match against Oneonta State and a closely contested victory in the first singles position against Connecticut College. The first year player from San Antonio defeated Adam Shapiro of Oneonta 6-0, 6-0 Saturday before grinding out a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Connecticut College’s Trevor Prophet.
Spencer Lunghino ’13 and tri-captain Derrick Angle ’12 recorded two wins in the match Saturday against Oneonta State as Lunghino beat Joey Milstein 6-1, 6-0 playing number six singles before joining David Farah ’12 in a resounding 8-1 win over Milstein and his partner Adam Shapiro.
Angle, meanwhile, topped John Taft from the third singles position 6-1, 6-0 and doubled up with senior tri-captain Michael Malhame ’11 in the number one doubles match, where the pair outlasted Oneonta’s John Dorin and Will Sacco 8-4.
Angle completed a spectacular Saturday with four total wins after securing two more against Brandeis later that day. Once again playing third singles, Angle needed three sets to defeat the Judges’ David Yovanoff 6-0, 4-6, 6-3. On the doubles side, Angle and Malhame pulled off the most impressive win of the weekend beating the nation’s 17th-ranked doubles team of Simon Miller and Nick White 8-5.
Peters singled out his fellow tri-captain after the weekend as a player who could have an enormous impact this year. “Michael Malhame played especially well at one doubles,” he said. “He has not started the last three years, but could very well be an All-American selection by the end of the season.”
Eric Vehovec also recorded two wins against Brandeis, beating Josh Jordan 6-0, 6-2 in the sixth singles match before he and Peters downed David Yovanoff and Steven Milo in the number two doubles matchup.
Lunghino and Will Oberrender ’13 accounted for four victories on Sunday as the Panthers rolled over the Camels of Connecticut College. Lunghino breezed by Colin Tasi in the fourth singles matchup and recorded a doubles win with partner David Farah. The second doubles team blanked their Connecticut College counterparts 8-0.
Oberrender also overpowered his opponents dropping just one of the 21 games he played Sunday. The sophomore from Edina, Minnesota defeated Jeremy Bader 6-1, 6-0 and then finished off the Panthers’ doubles domination with Alec Parower ’13, sweeping Jeremy Bader and Will Tucker 8-0.
Although the Panthers have gotten off to a strong start to the season, Peters cautions that the team needs to embrace the length of the season and approach each match with the same intensity.
“We need to continue to work hard, and love the battle,” Peters said. “Tennis is such a mental grind, and if we can approach every match with a warrior mindset, where we are not afraid to lose and we are willing to do whatever it takes to win, we will be very successful.”
The Panthers next compete on the west coast during spring break before beginning their NESCAC schedule in earnest when they return.