Women’s Tennis Splits Pair Against Conference Foes Bowdoin and Colby

 

The third-ranked women’s tennis team traveled to Maine April 13 and 14 to take on NESCAC foes Bowdoin and Colby, falling just short against the Polar Bears on Saturday before returning to   rout the Mules in nearby Waterville the following day.

The first match of the weekend was a significant test for the Panthers, who lost to Bowdoin in the round of 16 in last year’s NCAA championship.

The women started the match on a high note as they snagged two of the three doubles points. Lok Sze Leung ’15 and Ria Gerger ’16 continued their domination in the second doubles position with an 8-3 victory. The senior duo of Brittney Faber ’13 and Leah Kepping ’13, meanwhile, survived a back-and-forth match, eventually defeating their opponents 8-6. The Panthers’ no. 3 doubles team was defeated 8-4, however.

Heading into singles play, the women carried a 2-1 advantage, and needed just a split of the six singles matches to guareantee a victory. Despite a pair of wins, Bowdoin grabbed four of the six singles points — including a decisive three-setter — and the match.

Margot Marchese ’16, Katie Paradies ’15 and Gerger lost in straight sets, while Kepping lost in three sets. Coming away with wins for Middlebury were Leung – who dominated 15th-ranked Kellen Alberstone 6-4, 6-1 in the no. 1 singles match – and Dorrie Paradies ’14, who fought hard to win a tight contest 7-5, 6-4.

Despite the loss against Bowdoin, the Panthers confidently await the approaching NESCAC tournament with a potential rematch against the Polar Bears in the future.

“It was definitely a disappointing loss for us, but we know Bowdoin is a team that we will see again later in the season, possibly in two weeks’ time,” said Leung.

The next day, the women traveled to Waterville, Maine to take on the Colby Mules. From the start, the Panthers began play in impressive fashion against tge Mules, capturing all three doubles points.

The lefty-righty combination of Leung and Gerger was overpowering in the first doubles match, as the pair thrashed their opponents 8-2. The Paradies sisters, meanwhile, came away with an 8-4 win at no. 2 doubles, while Marchese and Kepping eased their way to a convincing score of 8-3.

Singles began with Gerger, who took over for Leung at the no. 1 position to win a seesaw match 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. Gerger used her all-court style of play in the match and showed her resilience in the three-set win for Middlebury. In the second singles match, Kepping used craftiness and aggression to dominate her opponent 6-2, 6-1. At the no. 3 position, Marchese barely let her opponent in the match, winning 6-1, 6-0. Sarah Macy ’15 and Sadie Shackelford ’16 also claimed wins for Middlebury, defeating their opponents 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 and 8-2, respectively.

The match of the day, however, belonged to Katie Paradies, as she climbed back from a tremendous deficit to win 9-8 (4). Paradies trailed 7-3 at one point in the match and saved multiple match points before clawing her way back to victory.

“Everyone on the team is pretty fired up right now in terms of narrowing down our practices to the specifics and pushing each other to raise our games to the next level,” said Leung. “On top of our work ethic and talent, I think our determination, honesty, confidence and closeness will take us very, very far.”

The women travel to Boston this weekend, April 19 and 20, to take on M.I.T. and Tufts. They will then have only two more matches before the NESCAC championships begin May 3.
Middlebury’s final match of the regular season will take place on April 28 at home against Amherst (12-1, 5-0 in NESCAC).

The Panthers currently sit in second place in the NESCAC with a 5-1  conference record.

“At this moment, we are trying to take one match at a time and focus on the coming weekend against M.I.T. and Tufts,” said Leung.