After falling short in the NCAA tournament two years ago, the Middlebury men’s tennis team was looking for a new spark to help lead the team towards a national championship. In September of last year, they got just what they needed in Noah Farrell ’18. Standing at only 5’7,’’ Farrell arrived on campus and immediately made an impact. He jumped right up the ladder and played No. 2 singles and doubles in both the fall and spring, amassing a 24-9 record in singles and 19-5 in doubles — playing with Ari Smolyar ’16, Middlebury’s top-ranked player.
Farrell felt comfortable from his first match as a Panther.
“I didn’t know anyone last year, so I had nothing to lose,” Farrell said. “My opponents knew they were playing a freshman, so they had no idea what they were going to get.”
Farrell did not feel that there was much of a change in the level of competition he faced before and after coming to college.
“The competition was hard, but the level of kids I’m playing is similar to the level I played in juniors and in tournaments,” he said.
Surprisingly, doubles proved to be much more difficult for the current sophomore.
“Going into the spring [of 2015], I didn’t think I would even make the doubles lineup. Coach had me playing four.”
However, with the support of the veteran Smolyar, Farrell quickly jumped the ladder to pair with Middlebury’s No. 1.
“Ari took me under his wing,” Farrel said. “He’s a great role model, and has had a huge impact on my play. He has given me confidence, and always encourages me to hang in and continue to battle.”
As his sophomore season begins, Farrell is ready to keep winning and believes the squad is in contention to win a championship. Last weekend, Farrell won the A-Flight of the Middlebury Invitational on the Proctor Courts, winning every match in straight sets and conceding only 15 games in four matches. Assistant Coach Courtney Mountifield believes that Farrell has made even bigger strides going into the season.
“[Head Coach] Bob [Hansen] and I weren’t sure what his form would be coming back after summer break, but he demonstrated once again why he is a leader on this team,” Mountifield said. “He was fit and in form, and his game was at a different level.”
It appears the team as a whole is ready, too. All the starters from last year’s singles lineup are returning, and the team chemistry is still there.
“We eat dinner together, hang out together, go out on the weekends … it’s a special group of kids,” Farrell said. “Our preparation was so good last year; there’s nothing we could change. We just need to have the drive and mental stability to finish the job now.”
The team is prepared to defend its NESCAC title. Arriving Sept. 6, the whole team had both morning and afternoon sessions on the court with morning workouts. In the winter, the captains run practices every day to keep everyone in shape. And Farrell, after a long summer of working at a tennis club hitting with the top juniors in the New England region, is ready to win.
“We feel like we are so much stronger than every other team,” Farrell said. But now people know what we can do, and in singles play, people now know who I am. So there’s more pressure, and people expect me to win.”
Mountifield and Hansen expect a lot from Farrell this year.
“We want him to push last year’s No. 1 (Smolyar),” Mountifield said. “Noah’s accomplished a lot already, but we look forward to an even better year with him.”
Farrell and Middlebury will return to the hard courts this weekend, as they play in the ITA Regional Championships at Williams College. Six singles players were selected to play from Middlebury: Farrell, Smolyar, Palmer Campbell ’16, Allen Jackson ’16, Will de Quant ’18 and Timo van der Geest ’18, and three double pairs were selected as well: Kyle Schlanger ’18 and Farrell, Smolyar and Campbell, and Jackson and de Quant.
