Men's tennis adds two more to the bag

Whatever the obstacle –– be it an injury, a crowd of raucous heckling frat boys or starvation –– Middlebury men’s tennis rises to the challenge. Even if the results might exhibit a continuous lack of competition.

The Panthers cruised through another undefeated weekend at Trinity and Wesleyan, racking up 8-1 and 9-0 wins, respectively. Middlebury improved to a NESCAC-leading 11-2 on the season, with a winning percentage superior to those of Amherst (17-6), Bowdoin (8-3) and Trinity (7-3). Amherst remains the only other team besides the Panthers without a NESCAC loss.

The aforementioned Bantams of Trinity provided the first test of the weekend, clearly showing they meant business before the match even started. A throng of fraternity brothers, armed with information from Middlebury-to-Trinity transfer Rich Bonfiglio, continuously peppered Middlebury players with personal and discouraging remarks. But the Panthers remained unfazed, rallying to win all of their singles matches and despite an early #3 doubles loss and never looked back.

“[The home fans] were all obnoxious and knew a lot of stuff about us,” said co-captain Peter Odell ’10, “but everyone managed the crowd well and there were no problems.” If anything, uncomfortable atmospheres during the regular season will only better prepare the Panthers for more competitive match play in the future. “This made the match more intense and fun,” added co-captain Andrew Thomson ’10, “because I had to expend all my energy to stay focused on my game and to ignore the comments of opposing fans.”

Despite an injury (hand) to co-captain Chris Mason ’10, other Panthers displayed the same ferocious intensity and dominance that they have all season, including co-captain Andrew Lee ’10.

“Lee had an incredible come-from-behind victory and showed his mental fortitude to come up with a win on a day he was not playing his best,” noted Thomson. Co-captain Conrad Olson ’10 exacted some revenge on Bonfiglio in #3 singles, dispatching him easily with a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Alec Parower ’13 and Odell also triumphed in straight-set victories. In doubles play, the #1-ranked pairing of Thomson and Lee and Panther combo Olson and co-captain Eliot Jia ’10 won competitive matches.

The Panthers traveled to Wesleyan the following day, tired and hungry after the Trinity match.

“The only problem was that we did not stop to get food before the match,” remarked Odell, “and so some of the players were starving and lacked energy.” Of course, this did not prevent the Panthers from crushing each Cardinal opponent. A slow start to the first doubles match was the only concern, but Panther combo Lee and Thomson soon started to control the points and posted an 8-4 victory. Also in doubles, pairings Jia and Odell and Eric Vehovec ’12 and Andrew Peters ’11 were each victorious without losing one game. Six Middlebury players rounded out the day with wins in singles play, including a dominant 6-0, 6-0 beatdown by Chris Schlabach ’13.

Much of Middlebury’s squad was able to rest during the Wesleyan match, showing once again the remarkable depth and versatility of this year’s Panther team. The starting lineup still remains dominant, with four out of six Middlebury starters undefeated in Division III singles play thus far.

“Our singles lineup has been pretty dominant so far,” said Thomson, “and although our doubles has been much improved since last year, we would like to reach a level where our doubles play is as strong as our singles play.” Thomson, as always, remains focused on the big picture. “While we are currently playing well, we will need to stay focused on our goals and continue to put in the efforts that have made us successful this season.”

The Panthers swing through Maine this weekend to take on Colby and Bowdoin, the latter one of Middlebury’s chief rivals this spring.