Women’s tennis team delivers strong home performance

In honor of former head coach Gail Smith, who holds a record 107 wins during her tenure that lasted from 1983 to 1999, Middlebury hosted its first home competition of the year on a beautiful Parents Weekend and had a very strong showing. The Panthers had three weeks to prepare since their last tournament and did not disappoint the many fans in attendance.

Middlebury’s top doubles team of sophomores Leah Kepping ’13 and Brittney Faber ’13 dominated their group stage, winning 8-1, 8-1, and 8-0 against two sides from Trinity and one from Amherst. They proceeded to beat another Amherst duo in the quarterfinals, 8-5. Kepping and Faber found themselves in a deep hole in the semi-final match, down 7 games to 3 and 15-40 against another Amherst squad serving for the match point. However, the Panthers managed to force the game into deuce and rallied to win six straight games for the victory, shocking their opponents.

The Middlebury duo had to face yet another Amherst side in the championship, the same Lord Jeffs that knocked out Kepping and Faber in the ITA semi-finals three weeks before. In a hard-fought battle with many close games, freshmen Jordan Brewer and Gabby Devlin from Amherst took the crown.

“We made great strides compared to last year’s tournament, which is definitely a confidence booster for the competition in this upcoming weekend,” said Kepping. “Brittney and I are incredibly excited about our ability to come back in the semi-final match, and we can’t wait to have another go at the Amherst team that beat us in the final.”

That opportunity may come this weekend, when Middlebury travels to Amherst for the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament, where teams from every D-III school in the region will be competing. The NEWITT caps off the short fall season for intercollegiate tennis competition, which resumes in the spring.

“Any time in the fall when we really start to come together as a team and everyone is really motivated, I feel like we have accomplished quite a bit,” said Head Coach Mike Morgan, who is proud of the direction his team is moving in. Despite the short season, he has seen many improvements and knows his team is working to meet the rest of their goals.

The doubles team of Dorrie Paradies ’14 and captain Sally Wilkey ’12 also won one match against Skidmore in the group stage and knocked out Amherst and Rochester sides in the consolation bracket. They also fell to yet another Amherst duo in a close match, 9-7, to conclude their weekend.

Coach Morgan did not hesitate to praise Paradies’ work ethic on the court. The only first-year, she is improving tremendously, and Coach Morgan is excited to see what she and Wilky can do this upcoming weekend. Although they have not quite yet found the results they’re looking for, the team knows that they will come.

“The team is pretty fired up and motivated going into the last week of the fall. You can’t ask for much more than that,” said coach Morgan.

The Middlebury women’s tennis team will be looking to build off their experiences at the NEWITT this weekend in Amherst, hopefully with the chance to take down some of the Lord Jeffs that came up to Vermont for the event.