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(02/20/20 11:40am)
The women’s squash team is hitting their stride at the right time. As the Panthers head down to Yale University for the CSA Team Championships this weekend, February 21-23, they benefit from the most recent set of national rankings, which saw them jump up from No. 17 to No. 15.
This change means more than just two spots — it also places the Panthers in a higher division, as the CSA championships separate teams by ranking in groups of eight to form each bracket. Thus, Middlebury will now compete as the No. 7 seed in the B division, the second best in the country.
The Panthers’ ascent is due to their strong performance at the NESCAC Championships, where they avenged a regular season loss against then-higher-seeded Bates, en route to a third place finish.
The jump to the B division will give the Panthers another shot at strong competition, with a potential first-round slate against No. 10 University of Virginia, who handed the women a 9-0 loss three weeks ago.
Rematches with Brown, George Washington, and Bates could prove interesting as prior matches with all three teams have been tight for the Panthers.
(02/13/20 9:05pm)
The first time Ruhi Kamdar ’22 came to Middlebury, Vermont was for her first-year orientation. A tennis player from Singapore, she had never seen her new home before. But equipped with her rackets, she knew it would all work out eventually.
Kamdar is one of a small group of international students who are also varsity athletes, all coming to Middlebury from a diverse array of athletic and academic cultures, often quite different to that of Middlebury. For many, the trip to the U.S. has been well worth taking.
Middlebury welcomes around 250 international students each year, roughly 11% of the entire student body. The Middlebury Athletic Communications Department states that only 20 of its varsity athletes hail from countries outside the U.S.
Middlebury attracts students from around the globe for its academic reputation, but athletics can also present a unique marketing opportunity for the school. Two Canadian hockey players, Shayla Coates ’21 and Adam Wisco ’22, from the women’s and men’s teams respectively, said coaches reaching out to them was a major factor in their consideration to cross the border into Vermont.
“Middlebury didn’t come up until my gap year where I played junior hockey [when] Coach Sinclar spoke with me after my league’s showcase. I was speaking with a few other teams at the time, but once I visited Middlebury I knew I wanted to go here,” Wisco said.
Other athletes, who did not have the luxury of meeting Middlebury representatives in person, took their college research into their own hands. “We sat at home trawling through the Fiske Guide to Colleges. I put out a tennis recruiting profile via email to a lot of schools and I just looked at schools that had emailed me back. I emailed the coach, but he had already filled all of his recruiting spots. He basically told me if I got into Middlebury, then I would be on his team,” said Catherine Blazye ’20, a women’s tennis player from London, England.
While many international athletes looking at colleges want a school where they can play their sport, many American colleges — and Middlebury specifically — have an edge due to academic prowess. For this reason, Middlebury often interests athletes even if they could potentially to play at a higher athletic level, such as at an NCAA Division I school (NCAA DI), where athletic departments can offer scholarships, more advanced facilities and more rigorous competition. International applicants to schools such as Middlebury are willing to forgo this opportunity in exchange for the rewards of a top tier education — all while competing in their sport on a smaller scale.
“The most important aspect of my [college] decision was finding a strong academic school that also fit who I am, and Middlebury was perfect for that. My original goal was to play DI, but I wouldn’t have compromised my education just to play DI,” Wisco said.
Blazye shared similar views, noting her original goal of DI recruitment was ultimately trumped by her passion for academics that has since flourished at Middlebury, as the NCAA DIII model allows for a sports schedule that does not prevent academic engagement.
In addition to the educational value of top U.S. colleges, some international athletes appreciate the opportunity to gain a peer support system through sports as they travel so far from home.
Kamdar walked onto the Middlebury women’s tennis team after a junior career with the Singaporean national team. Her journey to Middlebury, however, did not come without complication.
The academic calendar at Kamdar’s school in Singapore, which runs from January to December, resulted in Kamdar not having her test results in time to send to coaches for the early summer and fall recruiting process. Despite this challenge in her recruitment, Kamdar said she is happy she tried out for the team upon arrival to campus.
“I think being on a team and being a part of something very quickly makes you feel at home. When I made the team it was nice to immediately have a group of 12 girls that you could ask for help. I would say it definitely did help the transition,” Kamdar said.
While she knew she wanted to go abroad for college, Kamdar was prepared for the differences that come with such a decision. As she was looking at schools in both the United Kingdom and the U.S., she noticed the prevalence of college tennis that existed in America but not the U.K. The ability to compete again as she faced a new chapter of her life in a new place was appealing.
“No matter where I go in the world, the tennis court is like a home base, you know? Wherever I go, I have my racquets, I find [my] people.”
Other draws to coming to study in the U.S. are the resources available and the emphasis placed on sports of all levels as high school athletes look to continue their athletic careers. College athletic infrastructures like that of America’s are rare at colleges in other parts of the world. This difference can be a large distinguishing factor in the college process. Wisco, Blazye and Lucas Donavan-Lafuente ’23 also cited a comparatively lower interest in high school and college sports in their home countries.
“I’d say the biggest culture shock that I experienced when it came to sports at Middlebury was that people actually cared about how the college teams did. Back home, we would have the usual five parents who always showed up and the occasional friend but that was about it. Here, people who I haven’t even met before come to watch and support and it gives me a team pride I have never felt before,” said Donavan-Lafuente, a member of the men’s rugby and track and field teams who is from London.
In the eyes of some, the disparity extends not only to fan support but also the school’s financial commitment to teams. This feature that many schools like Middlebury have can be attractive to international athletes as athletic gear, meal stipends, and funding for training trips arise.
“The biggest shock was when I joined a varsity team. The insane amount of resources we have at hand [here at Middlebury] blew my mind. Something simple like a locker got me very excited as I’d only seen it in the movies,” Donavan-Lafuente said.
An athlete’s pursuit of studying and competing in America can easily translate to a longer term residence as well. Many athletes say they want to stay in the U.S. after graduation. “I have built so many relationships in the US that I really want to continue. I want another adventure. Maybe I will go back at some point, but for now I’m really excited for my next chapter in a new city,” Blazye said.
(09/19/19 10:04am)
Junior varsity sports, long popular among students wanting to participate in competitive athletics without committing to the rigor of a varsity team, were cancelled prior to the start of classes this fall.
The Middlebury College Athletics Department, which coordinated junior varsity athletics, canceled the program amid concerns over a lack of scheduled games and new NCAA sports medicine guidelines that had put a strain on athletic trainers, according to Director of Athletics Erin Quinn.
“Because most institutions do not have JV sports, it is difficult to create a credible, practical schedule,” wrote Quinn in an email to the Campus. Williams College, historically a regular opponent for Middlebury’s JV teams, recently dropped their JV women’s soccer and lacrosse teams.
Most recently, the college offered JV teams for men’s and women’s soccer, men’s hockey and women’s lacrosse.
Alongside the scheduling difficulties, Quinn said that a new set of medical “best practices” released this summer by the NCAA was another driving factor in the decision. The guidelines were designed for varsity athletic programs, Quinn said, but Middlebury had long provided athletic trainers to JV programs as well as varsity ones.
“We had similar medical oversight and expectations for our JV and varsity programs, and the new standards are difficult to meet with how the JV programs were operated,” Quinn wrote.
Prior to the cancellation, JV sports had been putting “increasing pressure on sports medicine that made operating a safe program extremely difficult,” said Isabelle Hartnett ’21, SGA Committee director for Athletic Affairs.
Unlike club or intramural teams, JV programs had access to the college’s professional training and sports medicine staff. With limited trainers and space, and multiple varsity teams practicing at any given time, there was a veritable strain on college resources.
Some members of JV teams like men’s soccer received emails from coaches in the weeks before classes started notifying them of the cancellation, while others have yet to be officially notified. The Athletic Department did not make a public statement about the cancellation, and coaches of individual teams were tasked with letting their teams know, according to Quinn.
“We did not make a public announcement because the decision impacts those students interested in participating, so we communicated directly with those students,” Quinn wrote.
The lack of notice has left some students confused and disappointed.
“The team was a great way to meet other girls [with] similar passions because there is so little space to do that at [Middlebury] other than varsity sports,” said former JV lacrosse player Emma Lukens ’20.
Former JV soccer player Matt Ravichandran ’20 also remembers his teams as a welcoming community where he formed close relationships.
“It was a nice escape from campus life, without being as overbearing as a varsity sport,” he said.
In addition to serving as social spaces, these teams have occasionally provided coaches a look at previously unseen talent, as well as players who might, with a year or two of practice, be ready for a callup to the varsity program.
Ravichandran and Jess Cohen ’20 noted that JV soccer has been known to use the team to scout potential additions and as a rehab platform for varsity players coming back from injury. In addition, other sports teams have seen players make the jump after staying in form with the JV squad.
Amid lingering uncertainty regarding the decision, students who want to continue playing their sport will have to consider playing at the club or intramural level.
(09/19/19 10:03am)
Cross country
By JORDAN HOWELL
The Middlebury cross country team competed in the Bates Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 14. The women finished in third place, while the men captured fourth place.
“The men's and women's cross country teams are excited now that the season is underway!” Talia Ruxin ’20 said. “It was awesome to lace up with the first-years this weekend, and we are feeling lots of positive energy.”
On the women’s side, Ruxin was able to capture seventh place with a time of 18:44.5, while Cassie Kearney ’22 came in 10th place with a time of 19:07.8. For the men, Quinlan McGaugh ’22 came in 10th place with a time of 26:34.4, while a time of 26:44.0 propelled Jack Litowitz ’20 to a 13th place finish.
“The Bates Invitational was a fun race and a great opportunity to run against some strong NESCAC competition early in the season,” McCaugh said.
Regarding the upcoming Aldrich Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 21, Litowitz was optimistic.
“A combination of the experience fresh off of a meet this past weekend, spiking up and running on our home course should allow the team to improve this week over last, and carry the positive momentum forward onto the bigger meets where it counts," he said.
Football
By LAUREN BOYD
The Panther football team kicked off their season with a 17–13 win against the Williams Ephs on Saturday, Sept. 14, scoring the game-winning touchdown with less than a minute on the clock.
The start of the second quarter opened up the scoring game. Carter Massengill ’20 put the first points of the game on the board, scoring a field goal from 25 yards out.
Later in the second quarter, the Panthers scored an 18–yard touchdown, gaining a 10–0 lead. The rest of the second quarter, however, was commanded by the Williams offense. Between the second and third quarters, the Ephs scored 13 unanswered points.
With just one minute and 30 seconds left in the game, the Panthers marched down the field behind Jernigan. A series of short passes and 10-yard gains led the Panthers to the 2-yard line, where Jernigan punched in the game-winning touchdown. Massengill tapped in the extra point, making the final score 17–13.
Men’s golf
By JACK KAGAN
The men’s golf team finished at the podium for this past weekend’s Duke Nelson Invitational. The Invitational took place at Middlebury’s Ralph Myhre Golf Course and featured 23 teams from around the region. After a strong start atop the standings at the end of day one, the Panthers finished the tournament in third place, just one stroke behind Williams.
Jordan Bessalel ’21 and co-captain Jeffrey Giguere ’20 shined on day one, coming in at sixth and third place respectively. Giguere finished out day two in first place by one stroke ahead of Williams’ Will Kannegieser. Giguere earned a combined score of 142. Neither Bessalel nor Giguere’s heroics were quite enough to lift the Panthers into second place as a team. New York University finished first.
After a strong showing, the Panthers will have little time to rest before heading down to their rivals’ turf in Williamstown for the Williams Fall Invitational.
Women’s golf
By MICHAEL SEGEL
The Panthers outdid last year’s performance at the St. Lawrence Invitational, this year coming in second place out of nine teams. On Sept. 7–8, five players from the women’s golf team came together to accomplish this feat. Their impressive performance can largely be attributed to the work of Blake Yaccino ’20, who finished third overall out of 47 participants. Classmate Chloe Levins ’20 wasn’t far behind, finishing in a tie for seventh overall.
Coming off the strong showing at the St. Lawrence Invitational, the women then competed in the Ann S. Batchelder Invitational on Sept. 14–15. They came in third overall behind Williams College and Wellesley College. Katie Murphy ’23 finished tied for second overall out of 42 golfers, shooting a two-over par 146 (74–72). Yaccino finished tied for fifth at 154 (76–78), while Levins finished tied for 18th with a 164 (84–80). Elizabeth Kenter ’23 finished tied for 27th, shooting a 169 (85–84), and Kayla Li ’23 finished in 29th with a 170 (85–85). The Panthers will be swinging back in action next week at the Mount Holyoke Invitational.
Men’s tennis
By JACK KAGAN
The men’s tennis team fell just short of divisional titles in four of four singles brackets this past weekend at the Middlebury Invitational on the Proctor Tennis Courts.
Though the squad is currently beginning a rebuilding process after losing its top two players to graduation, a bright future might not be so far away. The top singles flight saw unseeded Stan Morris ’22 blaze through to the finals, taking out the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds in the process.
Robby Ward ’23 also made a run to the finals in the B singles draw, knocking off No. 1 seed Brandeis sophomore Jeff Chen. David Vilys ’22 and Zach Hilty ’22 also made it to the finals in their respective C and D singles draws, and will look to use the momentum to propel themselves into a consistent starting role come spring time.
Surprisingly, the two doubles draws were devoid of Middlebury teams past the quarterfinals, likely owing to sets of entirely new doubles pairings.
The tournament featured teams such as Tufts University and Brandeis College, with whom the Panthers will have to contend if they want to stay at the top of DIII tennis.
Men’s soccer
By ERIK ARVIDSSON
After starting the NESCAC season with a scoreless double overtime tie, the Panthers traveled last weekend to Brunswick, Maine to take on the Bowdoin Polar Bears. For the second week in a row, the Panthers struggled connecting with the back of the net. The team finished with six shots on goal compared to Bowdoin’s 15 and neither were able to score. The game ended at 0–0.
The man of the match was goalkeeper Ryan Grady ’23. Grady made six saves to complete his second shutout of the year. The Panthers remain positive despite not scoring in two consecutive games.
“We have been doing all the right things,” Jack Spiridellis ’21 said. “We just need to put the ball into the back of the net, then we will win games.”
Up next, the Panthers played their home opener against Mt. St. Mary of New York on Sept. 17 (which occured after this issue was sent to print). The Panthers will round out the week with a home double-header this weekend against Hamilton on Saturday and Castleton on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Women’s tennis
By DAN MIGUEL ESPINOSA
The Middlebury women’s tennis team journeyed down Route 7 this past weekend for the Lindsay Morehouse Invitational at Williams College. The invitational followed a round-robin format in which the Panthers competed against three other teams in a full weekend of doubles and singles. No individual team was awarded champion.
On Friday, Sept. 13, three of four doubles pairs picked up victories against Skidmore. The following day, Middlebury swept RPI in three doubles matches, but only took two of three doubles matches against Williams. For singles, Middlebury swept RPI in all five contests.
Middlebury faced Skidmore again on Sunday for singles and won four of six matches. Against Williams, the Panthers won all three singles matches and won their only doubles contest.
The women will use this weekend to prepare for the ITA Regional Championships that kick off at home on Sept. 27.
Women’s soccer
By JENNY LANGERMAN
Women’s soccer had another successful week, winning both of this week’s games to put them at five total wins and zero losses.
The Panthers first faced SUNY Plattsburgh on the road. Despite solid play from their opponents, Middlebury was ultimately able to shut them out two-zip with goals from captain Jinx Charman ’20 and Leah Salzman ’21, and the help of strong defensive play.
Middlebury then hit the road once again to play the Bowdoin Polar Bears, having to put up a tougher fight in their second game of the week. The Bears got an early lead, scoring within the first eight minutes of play. The Panthers matched them with a goal from Salzman, but were unable to pull ahead until the very end. With just a minute and a half of game time left, captain Ellie Greenberg ’20 was able to hook one into the side of the net, securing the win.
The Panthers now have a week to regroup and prepare before their next match against conference-opponent, Hamilton College, on their home turf this Saturday, Sept. 21.
Volleyball
By HEATHER BOEHM
Middlebury Women’s Volleyball fell to an undefeated Clarkson on an unlucky Friday, Sept. 13, and split their weekend contests with a win over Potsdam and a loss to St. Lawrence on Saturday, Sept. 14.
In their first battle of the weekend against Clarkson, the Panthers came out expecting a war. Although they put some numbers on the board, they ultimately fell in straight sets to the 23rd-ranked team in the country. Gigi Alper ’20 led the Panther defense, picking up 13 digs for the night. Jane Nelson ’22 built on her teammates’ efforts and led the offense with six kills.
After a hard loss, Middlebury got back to work. The women triumphed over Potsdam with a decisive 3–0 victory. This time around it was Maggie Wise ’22, who took control of the Panther offense tallying 11 kills.
Although the Panthers were hungry for more, the women fell just short of a victory over St. Lawrence. Middlebury rolled through the first two sets before St. Lawrence stole the next two right back. Middlebury was then defeated by the Saints in the fifth set 15–12.
The Panthers will journey to Maine over the weekend, where they will compete against Colby on Friday, Sept. 20 and Bates on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Field hockey
By DAN MIGUEL ESPINOSA
Field hockey fared successfully on their Sept. 14–15 road trip, defeating ninth-ranked Bowdoin College and 18th-ranked Babson College, 1–0 and 2–0, respectively. The Panthers had difficulty stirring up scoring opportunities during the first half against the Bowdoin Polar Bears. But they gained momentum in the third quarter, outshooting the Polar Bears 3–0. Finally, the Panthers scored 30 seconds into the fourth quarter. The 1–0 score remained until the end of the game.
Against Babson, Middlebury struck early twice in the first quarter. The Panthers struggled scoring for the remainder of the game, but still made some spectacular stops.
Correction: A previous version of the cross country recap included outdated information and dates.
(09/12/19 10:01am)
Middlebury men’s golf kicks off their fall season this weekend, Saturday, Sept. 14–Sunday, Sept. 15, as the hosts of the Duke Nelson Invitational.
The team returns to the Ralph Myre Golf Course having lost four seniors. The Panthers will have to work to replace the contributions of Reid Buzby ’19 and Philippe Morin ’19, who were mainstays on the course last year.
The team adds three freshmen, Hogan Beazley ’23, Anthony King ’23, and Sean McGarrity ’23 to the mix, who hope to slot in and make an impact. They will be sure to look to captains David Packer ’20 and Jeffrey Giguere ’20, who returns after missing the fall competitions while abroad in Italy.
The men will travel to Williamstown next weekend for the Williams Fall Invitational, in preparation for the Nescac Championship Qualifier the weekend thereafter, starting Saturday, Sept. 28. The team will look to this weekend to kick off their quest to win the conference, in which they placed third last season.
Concluding the fall season will be the Saratoga Invitational in Saratoga Springs, New York from Saturday, Oct. 12th–Sunday, Oct. 13.
(09/11/19 10:29pm)
The Middlebury men’s tennis team is entering the 2019 fall season having lost a class of four seniors, including standouts Lubo Cuba ’19 and Noah Farrell ’19. Cuba and Farrell had career winning percentages of .802 and .725, respectively, and will be missed atop the lineup.
Filling the gaps in both the singles and doubles core will be three first-year recruits who make up the fourth-ranked recruiting class, as reported by tennisrecruiting.net. Leading the pack is Aidan Harris ’23, a 4-star recruit out of Indianapolis. Harris was the No. 1 player in Indiana and a top-60 recruit in his class.
A recruit of similar stature, Robby Ward ’23 out of Wilmington, Delaware also figures to play a role in the lineup. Ward was also the top player in his state, and was ranked No. 78 in his class. Middlebury also adds unranked recruit Andrew Mueller ’23 from Guatemala.
Though they lost valuable pieces, the Panthers retain considerable depth returning from last season. The combination of juniors Adam Guo ’21, Andre Xiao ’21, and Nate Eazor ’21 all return as upperclassmen, having made an impact in their first two years with the program which saw the Division III national title return to Middlebury.
The lone first-year representative in the starting lineup from last season, Stanley Morris ’22, will look to solidify a spot in the middle of the ladder, while former four-star and two-star recruits David Vilys and Zach Hilty will compete with the incoming first-years to round out the lineup.
Leading the squad will be seniors Weston Brach ’20, Aleksander Samets ’20 and Alex Vanezis ’20. Only Vanezis has seen significant time in the lineup during his three years on the team, and the trio will look to fill the void left by the graduates’ leadership as well as their play.
“After winning the championship in 2018, the atmosphere...coming back to campus felt a bit complacent, as if we were taking too many things for granted ... Our success this year hinges upon how quickly we can establish the habits of a championship team, especially since we lost [Farrell] and [Cuba],” said Vanezis of the captains’ goals this year.
The Panthers finished last spring with a tight loss to Emory in the Division III National Championship semifinals, but before they can start their campaign to return to the championship stage, as they did in 2018, they embark on a fall slate of individual tournaments.
This campaign begins at home this weekend with the Middlebury Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 14. The men will also compete in the ITA Regional Championships hosted by Colby College on Sept. 27.
(05/09/19 9:59am)
The men’s tennis team, seeded No. 3 in the NESCAC Tournament, capped off an impressive weekend on Sunday with their second upset of the tournament as they shut down top seed Amherst on the Proctor tennis courts.
The host Panthers found themselves going into the weekend as the No. 3 seed after tight losses to Wesleyan and Amherst in April. This set them up with a first round match against No. 6 seed Tufts on Friday, May 3. The Panthers downed the Jumbos 5-3 while the top two seeds, Amherst and Wesleyan, got to rest with a bye into the semifinals.
Despite being the lower seed going into Saturday’s semifinal matchup against Wesleyan, the team’s goal was clear. “[The] coaches kept on reminding us that we were right there with these teams and only to focus on the process,” said sophomore Adam Guo. The Panthers wasted no time jumping out to a 2-1 lead in doubles, reversing the result from last month’s match.
A huge help on Saturday came in the way of senior Lubo Cuba’s dominance out of the top spot. In the regular season, Cuba struggled against the Cardinals sophomore Andrew Finkelman, losing in three sets. He turned it around however in front of the home crowd in a dominant straight set victory.
The Panthers had yet another rematch set for Sunday morning as they prepared to face the top seeded Amherst Mammoths, who beat the Panthers just one week ago in Massachusetts by a score of 6-3.
Revenge was again the name of the game for the Panthers, as the doubles squads jumped out to a 2-1 lead. Despite the loss up at Amherst, Noah Farrell ’19 saw familiar doubles foes and got the win, this time with the help of teammate Alex Vanezis ’20.
From then on, the Panthers could not be stopped. The match saw Nate Eazor ’21 avenge his recent marathon three-set loss to Harris Foulkes; this time Eazor steamrolled his opponent 6-4, 6-0.
On the top courts, Cuba made quick work of Mammoths sophomore standout Sean Wei, who got the best of Farrell just a week ago. He blanked Wei en route to a 6-0, 6-4 victory. Farrell allowed even fewer games from Amherst’s Kevin Ma, shutting him down 6-2, 6-1 on the center court, clinching the title as his teammates rushed in to celebrate.
It was certainly a fitting close for the two senior stars, who have headlined the program’s lineup for some time now. “[It] feels so good bringing this title home for the seniors who are leaving ... guys on and off the court [brought] the energy throughout the match,” Guo said.
The Panthers turned some heads at NESCACs by beating two higher seeded opponents and were rewarded for winning the conference. They will host three rounds of the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament, for which they received an automatic bid. Friday and likely Saturday will be the last chance to see Cuba and Farrell in action at Proctor as they are seeded to move on to the third round for a potential matchup with No. 31 MIT.
(05/02/19 9:54am)
Middlebury narrowly fell short on Saturday to No. 4 Amherst, who have been on a tear this season and have locked up the No. 1 seed for the NESCAC tournament which starts tomorrow. The Panthers can take away the fact that the match was incredibly close and they missed taking down the upstart Mammoths by just a few points.
In the doubles competition, Andre Xiao ’21 and Nate Eazor ’21 eased to the lone victory for the Panthers, as two upperclassmen pairings fell to give the Mammoths a 2-1 start to the match.
Amherst’s sophomore standout Sean Wei, a former 5-star recruit out of John McEnroe Tennis Academy, handed Midd’s Noah Farrell ’19 a straight-set loss at #1 singles. Wei is an impressive 9-5 on the season out of the top spot. After Xiao lost at #3, the Panthers found themselves with their backs against the wall, down 4-1.
“We were fighting from behind, but our guys definitely dug in and fought back,” said Assistant Coach Andrew Thomson. Panthers vet Lubo Cuba ’19, having recently ceded the No. 1 spot to Farrell, pulled out an impressive straight set win.
More ladder changes for the Panthers have seen first-year Stanley Morris drop into the #6 spot. Morris also charged to an impressive straight-set victory against 4-star recruit William Turchetta out of New York.
Middlebury had two of its most contentious matches of the season while down 4-3 with the match on the line. Sophomores Nate Eazor and Adam Guo have been reliable for the Panthers this season in the bottom half of the ladder, and they were just a tiebreak away from getting the job done for a would-be upset against Amherst.
After winning the first set, Eazor just barely lost an 8-6 tiebreaker in the second set, before going on to lose the third set. Guo finished just after, losing a 7-3 tiebreaker in the decisive third set of his own match.
“It was definitely an extremely close match with Amherst…[they have] a great team and it was a hard fought match. That said, if we continue to put in work, stay healthy, and come ready to rumble for the NESCAC tournament, we will have a great chance to win no matter who we play,” Thomson said.
The Panthers are definitely looking forward to the tournament on their home courts starting Friday, May 3rd. Middlebury earned the No. 3 seed and the right to play No. 6 seed Tufts, who they handed a 6-3 loss a couple weeks ago. A win on Friday would set up a rematch in the semifinals against No. 2 seed Wesleyan, who beat the Panthers 6-3 in early April.
Middlebury has reached the finals of the NESCAC tournament 10 times in the last 13 years. There are big expectations for the Panthers, but they have experience and home-court advantage on their side going into a pivotal weekend.
(04/25/19 9:57am)
The men’s tennis team returned from a trip to Maine with solid wins against NESCAC foes Bates and No. 4 Bowdoin. The win came at a critical moment, after the Panthers dropped to No. 8 in the national rankings.
Middlebury’s first contest against the Bobcats was relatively smooth as the Panthers’ deep ladder swept the doubles and prevailed 7-2 overall. Saturday would prove to be the premier challenge of the weekend for the Panthers, with a rematch set against a Bowdoin team that they narrowly beat 5-3 one year ago to secure the program’s third NCAA National Championship.
Four of the starters from last year’s championship game played on Saturday, reprising the rivalry against the formerly 12-2 Polar Bears. “Both teams were going into the match ready for a war, and that is exactly what happened,” said sophomore standout Adam Guo.
This weekend, the Panthers staff decided to try out some new pairings for the doubles competition after some adverse results in recent weeks. All three of the teams were never before seen pairings, and this resulted in a 5-1 overall record on the weekend. Head Coach Bob Hansen said “we were extremely pleased with our new doubles teams and proud of the effort to establish connection and make adjustments to individual skills and style.” The change was welcome as the Panthers improved upon recent results and went 2-1 to start the day.
Having just a small head start, the Panthers later found themselves knotted at 3-3 with the Polar Bears. Guo stepped up with a critical victory at No.4. After seeing minimal time in his first-year campaign last year, Guo currently leads the team in singles wins this spring.
What has made the difference for Guo? Dedication in the offseason, he says. “I went back to the academy I trained at when I was a junior[...]and practiced every weekday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” said Guo. Despite his improved presence on court, the feeling of being a key starter hasn’t lost its appeal just yet. “I was both nervous and excited to play [No. 4 singles] against such a top team...but it shows that [the coaches] really believe in my success and my hard work is paying off,” he added.
Senior Noah Farrell followed suit after Guo’s victory with a three-set thriller of his own to clinch the match for the Panthers. Middlebury would go on to win 5-4 and make their case to move back up in the rankings.
Next up for Middlebury is an away match against No. 7 Amherst as the Panthers try to spoil the Mammoths’ senior day. Saturday could be the time for another big change in the national rankings, and as Coach Hansen pointed out after mixing up the ladder, “sometimes a change can bring new energy.” The Panthers will need all the energy they can get this weekend to take down the upstart Mammoths en route to a favorable seeding for the NESCAC tournament.
(04/18/19 9:56am)
After tough losses to No. 3 Emory and No. 5 Wesleyan, Panther men’s tennis stormed back in a big way last weekend with a nailbiter win over No. 10 Williams, in addition to a 6-3 victory over No. 18 Tufts. Middlebury tumbled down the rankings last week after an upset from then No.7 Wesleyan, while Williams dropped from No. 5 to No. 10 following a loss to newly crowned No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Currently, half of the top 10 in the country are NESCAC teams, and this strong level of play was on display at the Proctor Tennis Courts for the second weekend in a row. On Saturday, Middlebury hosted the Tufts Jumbos, who began the match by sweeping the doubles competition with relative ease, a feat that has only been matched twice in the past two seasons.
However, a 0-3 deficit didn’t seem to show in singles, as the squad stepped up and won six straight matches for the 6-3 victory, highlighted by sophomore Adam Guo’s team-leading tenth win and a breakout victory for first-year Stanley Morris in a tight three sets.
On Sunday, the Panthers geared up for a classic rivalry matchup against the Williams Ephs, who lead the all-time series against Middlebury 40-22 since 1920, despite going 1-8 in the past five seasons.
The Ephs’ best win came against No. 5 Wesleyan the day before their meeting with the Panthers, despite air-tight losses to No. 2 University of Chicago as well as Claremont and Emory. Middlebury would end the Ephs’ good fortune, however, starting with the lone doubles win from co-captains Peter Martin ’19 and Noah Farrell ’19 to stave off another 0-3 initial deficit. This marks a team-leading ninth win for the duo.
Farrell continued his excellence in both doubles and singles, with a 6-0, 6-0 shutdown of Ephs junior Ananth Raghavan. Other highlights include a solid straight set victory from Nate Eazor ’21, who has been splitting time as the #6 singles spot, but emerged with a spotless record on the weekend.
After the 1-2 start in doubles, the Panthers found themselves knotted at 4-4 with sophomore Andre Xiao battling against Williams senior captain Deepak Indrakanti. Xiao has matured nicely in his second season, posting a 9-4 record out of the middle of the ladder after competing mainly out of the #5 and #6 spots last season. He didn’t let the pressure get to him either, as he clinched the match with a 6-3 win in the third set.
The Panthers have only preserved their ranking with the two wins, but have the opportunity to move back up this weekend on the road against No. 4 Bowdoin. One of the most heated rivalries in the program, the Panthers defeated the Bears 5-3 in last year’s NCAA Division III Championship. The Polar Bears have suffered only two blows to their record this season; Middlebury getting a win under their belt would help the Panthers on their journey back into the top five nationally.
(04/11/19 9:54am)
After starting the season 7-0, the Panthers are coming off of a tough stretch, winning two matches and losing five since March 25. This past weekend the Panthers fell to steadily improving No. 7 Wesleyan and No. 3 Emory, each by a score of 6-3.
The No. 2 ranked Panthers started off uncharacteristically against No. 7 Wesleyan with a 1-2 deficit after doubles. The No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams both lost just their third matches of the season. The Cardinals bested the Panthers in singles with four wins despite senior captain Noah Farrell’s dominant victory over Cardinal first-year standout from Norway, Peter Anker.
Despite the upset loss, the Panthers had a quick turnaround with Connecticut College and Emory ready for a Sunday afternoon matchup. Middlebury rested their starters and breezed past the Camels in preparation for the No. 3 Eagles.
The Panthers’ doubles corps started off the match with an unusual 0-3 line. The Eagles’ doubles teams have been a bright point of their season, with none of their teams having lost more than three matches. Still, Panthers Coach Bob Hansen adds, “Our doubles was disappointing this weekend but we will work to lift our level in this area.” Junior Weston Brach echoed the sentiment, saying, “Going down 0-3 after doubles definitely wasn’t the plan...We knew we would have to come up with a special singles effort, and unfortunately we couldn’t get it done this time.”
Even so, the top of the singles ladder for the Panthers made a formidable effort. Farrell was flawless again with a 6-1 6-1 victory, pushing him to 8-3 on the spring. Of Farrell, Hansen said, “[He] was sensational in singles this weekend. He was locked in similar to the level of his sophomore season when he was the top-ranked player in the country.”
Hansen had similar praise for Lubomir Cuba ’19. As he cruised by Eagles Jonathan Jemison ’19, who is 11-2 on the spring, Hansen notes that Cuba, “broke out of his singles funk with a brilliant performance against Emory and one of the very best players in the country in dominating form.”
With the rock-solid top three, the Panthers are still looking for the right combination down the ladder, as Nate Eazor ’21 and Alex Vanezis ’20 split time at #6 singles this past weekend. Hansen says the team is, “still looking for a strong player at six singles and between [Vanezis] and [Eazor] we should be very competitive...if either takes a jump.”
Finding the right guys for the job might be what the Panthers need to bounce back as conference play ramps up this weekend against No. 17 Tufts and No. 6 Williams. Dropping the match to No. 7 Wesleyan does not bode well for this weekend against perennial rival Williams. As Hansen puts it, “As I said at the beginning of the season, we have the potential to be one of the top teams in the country but could also end up fifth in our conference if we don’t tighten things up.”
(03/21/19 9:57am)
The defending national champion Panthers in tennis remain undefeated after a home weekend during which they beat two ranked opponents in No. 10 Brandeis and No. 33 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Brandeis made an incredible jump from the mid-20’s in the national rankings after a win over 11th-ranked Pomona-Pitzer. They were the first to arrive at the Nelson Recreation Center to challenge the Panthers. First up were the doubles matches as captain Lubo Cuba ’19 and partner Nate Eazor ’21 secured an 8-6 victory to tally their ninth win as a duo for the year. Aleksander Samets ’20 and Andre Xiao ’21 teamed up to notch their 10th win together in a tight contest that took them to a tiebreak to win 8-7 (7-3). Last off the courts were Peter Martin ’19 and Alex Vanezis ’20 in a new doubles pairing that saw Martin grab his 11th doubles win of the year, completing the sweep for the Panthers and giving them a 3-0 lead going into singles play.
The lead certainly helped the Panthers, as they saw Brandeis secure three wins in the singles portion of the day. First-year Stanley Morris lost a straight-set contest playing up at the No. 2 as the team went without veteran standout Noah Farrell ’19. The defeat was just the second loss of the entire season for Morris. The Panthers, suffering from five of their players playing a spot higher than normal, saw Xiao lose at the No. 3 spot in an incredibly tight third set tiebreak to the Judges’ Adam Tzeng, a four-star recruit out of Eagle, Idaho.
Another Brandeis first-year shined at the No. 5 spot against Middlebury’s Eazor, as four-star recruit Jeffrey Chen cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 victory. However, the experienced Panther squad made the difference down the stretch. Cuba prevailed in a straight-set victory that pushed him to a tiebreak in the second set as he remains undefeated this spring.
Adam Guo ’21 continued his impressive campaign with his fourth straight win of the spring, bringing him to 11-4 overall, all coming from a player who rarely saw time in dual matches. He steamrolled over Brandeis’ Nikhil Das, 6-1, 6-2. Vanezis rounded out the scoring with an easy straight-set victory for his third win of the spring.
The next day would be a little bit different indeed as the Panthers went on to blank the Rensselaer Red Hawks. Bigger tests lie ahead as the Panthers fly out to California just after classes end for their annual spring break trip to California.
Notable competition for the Panthers’ trip includes Division I UC Irvine, who is 9-4 on the year, sitting atop the Big West conference standings. At the end of their trip they will face perhaps some of their most important opponents of the year in recurring west coast rivals No. 14 Pomona-Pitzer and No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
(03/14/19 9:55am)
The defending Division III National Champion Panthers got back in action on Saturday for the first time this spring against Hamilton and No. 26 Skidmore.
Despite their championship run last spring, the Panthers did lose a considerable amount of firepower to graduation. All three seniors were integral pieces of the lineup all season long. #3 William de Quant finished with an impressive 95-27 career total, while #4 Kyle Schlanger totaled a 69-23 record. Timo van der Geest went 19-11 playing at several different positions in singles, along with a 26-13 doubles record.
The Panthers did add some depth in first-years David Vilys, a 4-star from Naples, Florida, Stanley Morris, a 3-star recruit out of Santa Monica, and Zach Hilty, a 2-star out of San Luis Obispo, California. This 10th-ranked recruiting class will certainly be called upon to fill the hole in the lineup left by the seniors, particularly Schlanger and de Quant.
Things certainly looked positive for the No. 2 ranked Panthers this Saturday as they took on Skidmore in Saratoga Springs. Middlebury swept the doubles competition easily, starting off with a win at #3 from Aleksandr Samets ’20 and Andre Xiao ’21 in one of their first doubles showings as Panthers. Doubles specialist Peter Martin ’19 teamed up with fellow senior captain Noah Farrell for an easy 8-4 victory. Veteran standout Lubo Cuba ’19 and sophomore Nate Eazor finished the session with a perfect 8-0 win.
The singles corps quickly followed suit. In an impressive showing, not a single player dropped a set to his opponent. Morris recorded his first dual match win as a Panther in a win over Skidmore’s Travis Leaf at the #3 spot. Xiao slotted in at the #4 spot for just the second time in his career and also recorded an easy victory. Also getting some new experience in the singles lineup was Adam Guo ’21, who dominated his opponent 6-0, 6-1. Eazor, Farrell and Cuba all resumed similar singles positions as last year as the Panthers cruised to victory.
That same day the Middlebury men returned from Saratoga to host Hamilton at the Nelson Recreation Center. It was the same exact story for the strong Middlebury contingent, as the Panthers swept the competition without dropping a set.
This weekend, Middlebury will face sharper competition. In two home matches on March 16 and 17, the Panthers will take on No. 10 Brandeis and No. 33 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. On Saturday, Middlebury will take on a Brandeis team with a bit of a new look. After losing no seniors, the Judges welcomed a first-year class ranked seventh in the nation. A team that finished last season at No. 21, they’ve already recorded wins against #11 Pomona-Pitzer and several top-30 programs. With their first two wins under their belt, the Panthers have a week to prepare to defend their home courts and their national ranking.
(05/09/18 11:13pm)
The men’s tennis team went into the Nescac playoffs as the hottest team in the country. Newly minted as the top-ranked team in the nation, the Panthers had not lost a match since April 7. Even though they entered as the third seed in the conference tournament because of a tiebreaker amongst them, Bowdoin and Williams, the Panthers entered as a favorite to bring home the conference crown.
As the No. 3 seed, Middlebury faced off with No. 22 Bates on Friday, May 4 in the quarterfinals in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Bobcats have had an up-and-down year and were never quite able to hit their stride to move into the top 15 in the country. Hovering around No. 20 for much of the year, they suffered several 5–4 losses to higher-ranked teams and finally had their season cut short by the Panthers in a crushing shutout last Friday.
Matches in the Nescac tournament are played only until one team clinches the match, so once a team reaches five points, the match ends. Middlebury left no doubt to their skill as they raced out to five points with ease on Friday. The Panthers swept the doubles with their usual staff of upperclassmen to take a 3–0 lead into singles.
William de Quant ’18 and Timo van der Geest ’18 shined at No. 3 and No. 6 singles, respectively, each dropping only one total game to their opponents. This ended the match quickly and efficiently as the Panthers walked away with a 5–0 victory. All other Panthers players were leading in their matches, including Lubomir Cuba ’19, who was just a couple of games from winning at No. 1 singles.
The next day was a more formidable test for the Panthers in a rematch with Williams, who has been one of the toughest teams in DIII this year and handed Middlebury a loss on April 7. Going into Saturday, the Ephs had only lost two DIII matches all year, at the hands of powerhouses University of Chicago and Bowdoin. Middlebury has faced Williams seven times in the previous four seasons and won every single match before its loss to the Ephs earlier last month.
Saturday’s match was reminiscent of years past. Middlebury’s winning started in doubles, when the Panthers gained a 2–1 edge. Cuba and Kyle Schlanger ’18 won their ninth straight match together in a tight 9–8 (7–3) win in the first slot. Noah Farrell ’19 and de Quant won their 10th match of the spring 8–5 at No. 2, while van der Geest and Peter Martin ’19 lost just their eighth match of the spring compared to 14 wins.
Leading 2–1 as singles began, the Panthers needed only three matches to complete the day, holding Williams to one win on Saturday. Cuba overcame Williams’ Brian Grodecki in two sets, and Middlebury’s seniors followed suit, as de Quant and Schlanger dominated their opponents in similar straight sets. Farrell, van der Geest, and Nate Eazor ’21 were all relieved of their duties as the Panthers clinched the match.
After the Panthers got revenge on Saturday, Bowdoin had its own chance at retribution after Middlebury gave the Polar Bears their only loss of the season on April 14. Cuba and Schlanger continued their impressive winning streak by way of an 8–6 victory at No. 1 doubles that mirrored their win from three weeks ago. Van der Geest and Martin confidently picked up their 15th win of the spring, while Farrell and de Quant struggled as Bowdoin’s Kyle Wolfe and Jerry Jiang reversed their prior loss to the duo, besting the two Panthers 8–4.
Middlebury went into singles play with a 2–1 lead.
“There were many positives to take away from the match, including another solid doubles performance as a team winning two of three,” Middlebury’s coaches, Bob Hansen and Andrew Thomson, said. “We feel that if we are able to continue staying connected and playing hard every doubles match that we will often find ourselves with an advantage heading into singles play.”
Cuba picked up his 12th win of the spring in a straight-set win over Grant Urken, who pushed him to a third set in their last matchup. This, however, was the only other match Middlebury won. The four other matches that finished went Bowdoin’s way.
“It was certainly a disappointing finish,” said the coaches. “We were thrilled with the effort and passion that our guys poured into each of their matches. We knew Bowdoin was going to come after us because we had gotten the better of them in the regular season matchup, and credit to them for playing some great tennis.”
Farrell’s opponent, Bowdoin’s Luke Tercek, avenged an earlier loss, besting Farrell 6–2 in a third set. The same went for Bowdoin’s No. 3, Kyle Wolfe, whom de Quant edged out last time in a tie break. This time around, Wolfe got revenge, handing de Quant his third loss of the spring in the process.
Bowdoin’s Gil Roddy provided their lone victory in their April matchup against the Panthers in a straight-sets shutdown of Eazor, and this time proved similar, though Eazor fought to make the match much tighter, losing in three sets. This marks only Eazor’s fifth loss of the spring, compared to 12 wins.
Van der Geest, at No. 6 singles, has fought his way back into the singles lineup, replacing freshman Andre Xiao, who ended his season on a rough note with a four-match losing streak. Van der Geest, however, could not convert in the third set against Bowdoin’s Justin Patel, who Xiao bested in straight sets in April. Schlanger’s match got cut short in the third set as Bowdoin took the fifth and decisive point to avenge its earlier loss at the hands of the Panthers and win its second straight Nescac championship.
The season does not end there for the Panthers, though. They received an at-large bid into the NCAA DIII men’s tennis championship Monday. As members of perhaps the toughest conference in the country, Nescac foes No. 4 Williams and No. 8 Amherst also earned at-large bids, to bring the conference total to four along with the Panthers and the Polar Bears. The selection committee clearly looked past the Panthers’ playoff woes and showed respect to their national ranking, selecting Middlebury to host a region of the tournament this weekend, when six other teams will descend onto the Proctor Tennis Courts.
Four teams, Wilkes University, Colby-Sawyer College, MIT, and Cabrini University, will battle for the chance to play either Middlebury or No. 24 Johns Hopkins University in the second round. All four of the first-round teams made runs to win their respective conferences, granting them an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
“We are looking forward to a very tough and challenging series of matches after seeing the release of the NCAA bracket,” said the coaches. “Most importantly, our job this week is to stay focused on what matters most, enjoying every step of the process and competing with everything we have each day whether it’s a practice or a match day.”
It’s possible that the second round will see Middlebury play a Colby-Sawyer squad that they demolished about a month ago. This would more than likely set up a match with Johns Hopkins, who plays a relatively weak schedule and whose most notable wins have come over top-20 opposition Swarthmore and Mary Washington in their Centennial Conference tournament run.
Being the favorites to move out of their region, the Panthers will be hoping to extend their season to next weekend, when, if given the opportunity, they would fly back to Claremont, California, for a possible rematch with Williams or No. 2 Emory.
“As always, we will try to prepare ourselves as best we can in every facet of the game to ensure we give ourselves the best possible likelihood of being successful,” said the coaches.
They are certainly favored to make it at least that far, and they have home-court advantage and seeding on their side as they try to make it to the quarterfinals in their quest for a national championship.
(05/03/18 11:42pm)
Just days after the new ITA Division III rankings came out, new national No. 1 Middlebury men’s tennis ended the regular season on Sunday, April 29 with a dominant 7–2 win over Nescac championship hosts No. 8 Amherst. The men are anxious to prove themselves at Nescacs and NCAAs, but this won’t come easily, as the other teams in the top five in the country are all looking for another shot at the Panthers.
Middlebury hosted Amherst on Sunday in their sixth and final home match out of 21 total matches. Sent inside by the rain, the Panthers showed their fondness for the Nelson Recreation Center indoor courts as they bested the fourth-best team in the Nescac in convincing fashion.
Amherst tennis is no stranger to tennis glory, however. The Mammoths won both Nescac and national titles in 2011 and 2014, and their only losses this year have come against the current top five teams in DIII tennis. Their closest test came against Williams the day before that team snuck by the Panthers 5–4 on April 7.
On Sunday, Middlebury showed no mercy to the Mammoths, closing out conference and regular season play. Starting the match, the Panthers doubles squads returned to the excellence to which they have been accustomed this season. Timo van der Geest ’18 and Peter Martin ‘19 picked up their 13th win of the season as they stomped Oliver Kendall and Jesse Levitin by a score of 8–2 at No. 3 doubles. At No. 2, William de Quant ’18 and Noah Farrell ’19 notched their eighth straight win, also by a score of 8–2. Lubomir Cuba ’19 and Kyle Schlanger ’18 tallied their seventh straight win to move to 16–3 this spring. Panthers doubles teams moved to an impressive 50–13 this spring as they once again gave the team a 3–0 lead heading into singles.
Schlanger was first off the court on Sunday with a routine straight-sets win over Amherst’s Jayson Fung as the senior made it six in a row moving into his last postseason. Facing adversity early was standout Cuba, who ended up losing a battle in the third set to Amherst freshman phenom Sean Wei, a recent five-star prospect who was ranked 26th in his recruiting class nationally. With a comfortable 4–1 lead, the Panthers still found themselves in several battles down the stretch.
Senior William de Quant found himself in one of these tight matches after being forced into a decisive third set after splitting the first two lopsided sets. Assistant coach Andrew Thomson said of de Quant’s match, “He played a [player] who … played No. 1 for Amherst last year … [s]o a very talented player. Will got off to a very hot start and won the first set decisively, and the second set didn’t go his way, but to his credit he really bounced back strong and remained confident.” De Quant commented on how he was able to turn the tide in the third set, saying, “The difference between the second set and the third set was actually quite subtle. Whoever was on the front foot and controlling from the baseline was the one winning the most points, and I forced myself in the beginning of the third set to step into the court and dictate. Once I did this, I found it easier to spread my opponent out and keep the outcome of the points on my racket and not his.” De Quant was able to overpower his opponent in the third set by a score of 6–1 to clinch the match for the Panthers.
The drama still was not over for Middlebury as Farrell found himself in a tight second set requiring a tie-break. For Thomson, Farrell’s demeanor was plenty indication that he would figure it out and secure the win.
“It was awesome watching him play,” Thomson said of Farrell. “Noah did a great job playing his game and being patient and enjoying being out there. He always plays better when he’s having fun on the court.” Farrell’s win grew the Panthers’ lead to 6–1.
The first-years at the bottom of the ladder were left, then. Andre Xiao ’21, who has posted an impressive 12–6 record thus far, has fallen into somewhat of a funk lately, and lost his fourth straight match on Sunday, falling in straight sets. Nate Eazor ’21 had a different match, however, as he shut down his opponent 6–3, 6–4 to complete the 7–2 win for Middlebury.
The next test for the Panthers could come as early as Friday, May 4, when the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds face off in the opening round of the Nescac tournament at Amherst. As of Sunday, the team did not know its seeding for the tournament.
“From a seeding perspective, Bowdoin, Williams and Middlebury are all tied for first, but due to … tie-breaking rules, we could well end up being third seed,” de Quant said. Though they sit atop the national rankings, the Panthers could be nagged by a previous loss to Williams, which created a triangle between the Ephs, the Panthers, and the Bowdoin Polar Bears, who suffered their only loss at the hands of Middlebury several weeks ago. With the No. 3 seed, Midd would have to play an opening-round match against the No. 6 seed, potentially Wesleyan or Bates. With the No. 1 or 2 seed, they would get an automatic bye into the semifinals.
Their No. 1 national ranking guarantees the Panthers nothing in the Nescac tournament, where they may get a chance to settle the score with Williams.
“Of course, we would love to get a swing at Williams again, as we are a different team than we were when we came up just short to them a few weeks ago,” de Quant said. “Despite now being No. 1, we feel we are only starting to heat up, and we have not yet reached our peak level.” Revenge against Williams, or a conference-tournament win punctuated by another win against national No. 3 Bowdoin, could be just what the Panthers need to remove all doubt surrounding their new ranking.
“I think [our new ranking] was well deserved on our part. However, there are a lot of very good teams out there, and it’s definitely a year where there’s a lot of strong teams at the top and you could certainly make a case for them being really strongly ranked,” Thomson said. Because of the strength of the Nescac as a whole, Thomson added, this weekend could be a good test for the Panthers to prove themselves yet again.
“We’ve done a good job beating some really good teams recently, but they’re going to be hungry and coming after us, especially after the latest rankings, so I think we have a little bit of a target on our back,” Thomson said. The Panthers are sure to see some familiar faces this weekend at Nescacs. “Every year we set a goal to win the Nescac championship. The Nescac is the deepest conference in the country. To be the best we have to beat the best,” de Quant said.
The Panthers did not know their fate for the weekend after receiving the No. 1 ranking or even after beating Amherst. This, however, does not change their goal. They are sure not to look past the familiar opponents in the Nescac for this weekend.
De Quant said it best: “We go into the weekend ready for any opponent, focused on controlling what we can control.”
The Panthers are deep, talented, healthy and ready for another go at the best conference in the country this weekend at Amherst.
(04/25/18 8:57pm)
Middlebury men’s tennis made a convincing case for the top spot of the national polls by defeating No. 1 and defending national champion Emory during a weekend trip to Connecticut, where the Panthers also beat Trinity 6–3 on Saturday, April 21, and No. 13 Wesleyan 5–4 on Sunday, April 22.
The Panthers showed this past weekend that their 8–1 win against No. 2 Bowdoin on April 14th was not a fluke, and their championship aspirations were well founded. Just seven days later, they drove to Hartford for a matchup with No. 1 Emory on Trinity’s courts.
Before they played Emory, though, they had to show that the depth in their ladder could get through Trinity. Trinity was winless in the Nescac going into the match, and Middlebury gave their singles players some rest, though Andre Xiao ’21 played singles in both matches and ended up losing in a tight three-set match to senior Kyle Scheffers. Doubles standout Timo van der Geest ’18 also got the call to play No. 1 against Trinity, and lost in two closely contested sets, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. Despite the Trinity’s sharp top-of-the-ladder players, Middlebury secured the win down the stretch with confident wins from experienced stand-ins Alex Vanezis ’20 and Adam Guo ‘21, not to mention a doubles core that held nothing back.
The Panthers sent out their usual squad of doubles teams to secure three easy points, as Lubo Cuba ‘19 and Kyle Schlanger ‘18 picked up their 13th win in 16 matches. The Panthers held nothing back in doubles and punished the Bantams 8–2, 8–2, and 8–4 en route to a 6–3 match victory. The Panthers no doubt had their eyes on Emory for later that day.
Emory has certainly established itself of late as a Division III powerhouse. The Eagles have won the national championships twice in the past six years and haven’t even finished outside the top 10 in almost 20 years. They traveled up to Hartford undefeated in DIII play after fending off No. 3 University of Chicago, No. 13 Wesleyan, and No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who handed Middlebury a 7–2 loss in California almost a month ago. That being said, neither team forgot the 6–3 loss Middlebury handed Emory last year — a defeat that failed to slow the Eagles trajectory to a national championship just two months thereafter.
Last year’s loss seemed perhaps all too familiar for the Eagles as the Panthers proceeded to dominate. The wins started early for Midd, who masterfully handled the Eagles at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, each by scores of 8–1. Van der Geest, playing on minimal rest, showed what he had left in the tank as he and Peter Martin ’19 rounded out the scoring to start the match off 3–0. Panthers duos are an impressive 47–13 this spring, and the players must be comforted each time they can jump out to such a big lead moving into singles play.
The Panthers singles players scarcely needed the boost, as they dominated the first through fourth singles spots. The upperclassmen at the top of the ladder made quick work of the men from Emory. Schlanger picked up his fourth-straight win of the spring, while the others finished without much commotion. The top and middle of the ladder left no double who is the better team.
“It took a belief in ourselves and a constant attention on staying focused in our execution of our individual game plans, which differ vastly based on the unique talents of each of our players,” assistant coach Andrew Thomson said.
After Cuba clinched the match with his 10th win of the spring, the first-years at the bottom of the ladder ran into trouble against Emory’s upperclassmen. Xiao, with little rest, and Nate Eazor ’21 could not finish the job as they fell in incredibly close three-setters with multiple tie-breaks. The upperclassmen had picked them up, however, and the Panthers emerged having tackled the No. 1 team in the country, handing them their first DIII loss of the season.
“Beating Emory was a monster win, no doubt about it,” Thomson said. “Anytime you beat a time with that much talent and that strong of a record, it demonstrates that we have a lot of things heading in the right direction for our group.
“Of course, it is very possible we will play Emory again and if we do so, we will expect it to be a war. They are always a tough team to beat and even though our victory was clear, we likely caught them on a day they were not playing their best. We will need to continue to improve so that we will be likely to win if we meet again and when they are playing better.”
Despite Saturday’s heroics, the result of the weekend still wasn’t certain until the very end. After van der Geest and Martin dropped a tie-breaker to Wesleyan’s Stephen Chen and Cam Daniels, the Panthers found themselves with a narrow 2–1 lead heading into singles against a Wesleyan team that plays an incredibly strong schedule and almost knocked off previously-No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis and previously-No. 8 Carnegie Mellon.
Looking to avoid any theatrical upsets, the rock-solid middle of the ladder for Middlebury took care of business in dominant fashion to quickly clinch the match for the Panthers. Schlanger picked up his 11th win in 15 matches, while Eazor and Will de Quant ’18 followed suit. If it weren’t for the order of the matches, the match might have looked in doubt for the Panthers. The Cardinals fought extremely hard, even unexpectedly winning at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, to bring themselves within two points of the Panthers, who led 5-3. Wesleyan’s Princeton Carter took advantage of Xiao’s exhausting weekend and pushed him to his limits, handing him a three-set loss.
The Cardinals narrowly missed the upset, and the Panthers survived the weekend unscathed and could finally celebrate their upending of the defending national champions.
When the updated ITA rankings come out later today, Middlebury figures to move up a few spots in the polls. Some have speculated that the Panthers may even be the ITA’s new top team heading into the tail end of the season.
“It will be interesting to see how the ITA committee decides upon both national and regional rankings as most teams have 1 or 2 losses at this point,” Thomson said. “While a No. 1 national ranking might be possible for us, the only benefit of it would be an improved draw for the NCAA tournament assuming we make it there.”
The Panthers must not look past Nescac championship host No. 7 Amherst in their final home match of the year on Sunday, April 29, as they await the seedings for the conference tournament.
“We will have to maintain the mentality of a team hungry to prove that we can beat anyone if we are to continue to have a successful season,” Thomson said. “This starts with Amherst this weekend, who will represent another extremely formidable Nescac opponent that is loaded with talent up and down their lineup.”
Though the Mammoths haven’t made any noise against top-five-ranked teams this season, they have been perfect against teams outside of this range, so look to the Proctor Tennis Courts on Sunday to see some heated action and a possible Nescac tournament preview.
(04/18/18 9:00am)
The sixth-ranked men’s tennis team stunned previously undefeated No. 2 Bowdoin on Saturday, April 14, dismantling the Polar Bears 8–1 in the Nelson Recreation Center. They showed no mercy on their opponents on Sunday, April 15 either, efficiently shutting out Colby-Sawyer and downing No. 26 Skidmore 8–1 to move to 12–3 this season.
The Bowdoin matchup presented the Panthers with an opportunity to defeat one of the nation’s best teams in Bowdoin, after falling to No. 6 Claremont-Mudd Scripps and No. 5 Williams the previous two weekends, and prove they belong in the conversation of the nation’s best teams.
To give some perspective on Bowdoin’s season, they were undefeated coming into Middlebury on Saturday. This is a team that won the Nescac and made a run to the NCAA Final Four last year.
Their record table for single-season wins is riddled with names of current players, including current junior Grant Urken, who set the Bowdoin record for wins in a single season last year with 31. They have had four players named as ITA All-Americans in the past two years. This year, they’ve beaten two top-five ranked teams, and this is reflected in their national ranking. To put it lightly, this is certainly an era of strong men’s tennis teams at Bowdoin College.
On Saturday, Middlebury dominated that same program. Middlebury’s stellar day began in doubles, when they won all three matches to set the tone in Nelson. After suffering a few setbacks against top teams despite what is usually an exceptionally strong doubles core, the Panthers doubles pairings struck back.
Of his own pairing with Peter Martin ’19, Timo van der Geest ’18 said, “After having two tough doubles matches at third doubles last weekend against Williams and Tufts, it was great to see us bounce back from that and get a very close win against Bowdoin.” Van der Geest and Martin have been each other’s main partners this spring, and they’ve been a mainstay in the lineup for the Panthers, playing all but one match together, all the while compiling a 10–6 record. They showed their chemistry well on Saturday, besting a familiar Bowdoin duo at No. 3 doubles 9–8 (7–2). “It felt really good to get the doubles win on Saturday; that’s the third time in a row that we’ve played against that same doubles team from Bowdoin, and the matches have always been pretty tight,” Martin said.
The rest of the doubles proved to be relatively routine finishes dominated by the Panthers’ singles studs. Lubomir Cuba ’19 and Kyle Schlanger ’19 combined for their 11th win of the year in first doubles, compared to just three losses, while William de Quant ’18 and Noah Farrell ’19 picked up their fourth win in five matches together in second doubles to give Middlebury momentum heading into singles.
“To be able to win all three doubles matches gave us great momentum to go into singles,” said van der Geest. After finding themselves on the other side two weekends ago when they lost all three doubles matches to rival Williams, Middlebury reversed that feeling on Saturday. Martin, who, like van der Geest, did not play in singles, remained focused on the team. “It definitely felt great to help the team get out to a big lead, which always seems to help give our guys a lot of confidence going into singles,” he said.
Confidence is a word van der Geest also used to describe the team sentiment on Saturday. “I think the Bowdoin win solidified the confidence we still had in our entire team, even after we had suffered two tough losses to CMS and Williams,” said the senior. “We knew we have the capabilities to beat any team in the country, and this reaffirmed that. However, our season so far has shown us that we have to show up every single time we go out to play.”
Playing No. 1 singles, Cuba showed up against Bowdoin’s Urken on Saturday, winning big in the third set after getting shut out in the second. Cuba has bounced back after back-to-back singles losses against his opponents from CMS and Williams, winning at Tufts last weekend and then twice this weekend.
“We definitely demonstrated that we can be a really tough team at every spot in the lineup when we are playing well,” said assistant coach Andrew Thomson ’10, convinced Middlebury’s depth is exceptional this season.
The rest of the singles players impressed, to Thomson’s point, but head coach Bob Hansen had a lot to say about his seniors in particular. “We had our senior celebration after the Bowdoin match, which was very fun and a fitting and well-deserved occasion, as the seniors went 5–0 against Bowdoin, leading the team to victory over a very strong team,” he said. He certainly had his eyes on de Quant and Schlanger, who won at No. 3 and No. 4 singles respectively, in addition to the doubles wins they and van der Geest picked up.
While the seniors shined on Saturday, Middlebury’s first-years had their moments as well. Andre Xiao ’21 made quick work at the No. 6 spot to move to 11–2 this spring, while Nate Eazor ’21 couldn’t come back after a tight 7–5 loss in the first set, suffering just his third loss of the spring. Both players have worked their way into Hansen’s regular lineup in their first seasons in the blue-and-white, as demonstrated by their presence against the nation’s No. 2 team.
The 8–1 match was not a walkover like the final score indicates, and the Panthers had to battle at every position to secure such a definitive win. Members of the squad were ready to learn from the match even in the face of what looked like a blowout on paper, very aware that any regular season win is a loss if they grow complacent afterwards. “It definitely meant a lot for us to prove we can put the pieces together against a tough and well-coached Bowdoin team and come away with a victory. Even though the final score was 8–1, the match was extremely competitive, and we will have to make sure to be prepared in the event we play them again,” said Thomson.
Hansen attributes the success to the Panthers’ preparation, and was quick to look forward to more improvements before their next match. “The weekend was a result of strong practices all week, and I look forward to another strong week of work heading into the very stiff competition next weekend. It was definitely taxing but should also really prepare us for the challenges ahead,” he added.
After giving some fresh bodies a chance against Colby-Sawyer and proceeding to down them 9–0, the Panthers put an exclamation point on the weekend with an 8–1 win against No. 26 Skidmore, during which they dropped only two sets total. The Panthers barely have a chance to relax, as next weekend presents another exciting opportunity.
Thomson was happy with the wins, but said they are not satisfied with anything just yet. “Now that we know we can play at an extremely high level on our home courts, we have a great opportunity this coming weekend to try to replicate our effort on the road versus three tough opponents, including No. 1 Emory,” he said. The team remembers the close losses to Williams and CMS well as they look forward to a shot at the top team in the country, but Hansen said he recognizes the advantages that come with the Panthers’ adversity thus far. “I like that we are building and that it has not all gone smoothly so far. Overall [I am] very proud of our strong, courageous and connected effort this weekend,” he said.
The team will need another courageous effort this weekend against the 2017 national champion, Emory (13–2), whom the Panthers will meet at Trinity (5–6, 0–5 in the Nescac) on Saturday, April 21 after a match with the Bantams that morning. However, little separates the top six teams in the country right now. Emory has had close calls with Chicago and CMS, as well as a loss against the same DII Azusa-Pacific team that Middlebury pushed in a close match. The match is up for grabs, so do not be surprised if the Panthers come out of the weekend having made a case for No. 1 in the country.
(04/11/18 8:39pm)
Travelling south to Massachusetts to take on No. 5 Williams and No. 15 Tufts for their first matches since spring break, the men’s tennis team had a lot to be excited about. For one, Williams recently beat No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, who two weekends ago handed Middlebury their first loss of the season against DIII competition. On top of that, standout Noah Farrell ’19 made his return to play his first match of the spring, and Will de Quant ’18 was settling in in his second singles match of the spring. Thus, the Panthers drove to Williamstown with the goal of defending their high national ranking before the new Oracle ITA DIII National Rankings come out.
The Panthers, however, found themselves in a big hole early, losing all three doubles matches. Middlebury, who is 30–12 this spring in doubles, could not convert on any of the closely contested matches. De Quant, who is making his own return to the courts this spring, teamed up with Farrell in his much-anticipated return to action. The two lost in a tiebreak, 9–8 (7–4).
“What separates us from Williams in doubles was just one or two points,” de Quant assured. “Nothing more than that. That is the beauty of sports, and if we take away the most important information from that match and work on key things this week during practice, we will win those points next time and be in a stronger position going into singles.”
He may be right. Timo van der Geest ’18 and Peter Martin ’19 lost by the same close score, while Lubo Cuba ’19 and Kyle Schlanger ’18 went down 9–7 in just their third loss in 13 matches.
De Quant noted that such a 0–3 deficit to start the match can be demoralizing.
“Going down 3–0 by losing two doubles tiebreakers can be a big blow to the morale,” de Quant said.
“Our team displayed a lot of poise and competitive spirit in the face of an 0–3 deficit, and we battled back hard,” assistant coach Andrew Thomson said. De Quant was the first to do so, and in convincing fashion.
“My focus was on inserting as much energy and intensity into the overall match as possible,” de Quant said.
“We really wanted to get a point on the board as quickly as possible to build some momentum, and I knew that If I played focused and intense, I would be able to do that,” de Quant said of his rebounding performance against Williams’ Sachin Raghavan. De Quant must have been focused indeed, having the strongest win of the day with a dominant 6–2, 6–3 victory. Picking up his first win of the spring, de Quant added, “Even though I lost a tight match against CMS, I was happy to be back on court and competing at a high level for the team. After that match, I knew that if I focused on finding my rhythm and patterns again, my confidence would follow. I am enjoying being back out on court and still working to get back to the level of play I know I am capable of. This weekend was a step in the right direction.”
As for steps in the right direction, Farrell in the No. 2 spot was next to finish after de Quant. He came back from a 0–6 loss in the first set to power his way to a win 6–3, 6–3 in the final two sets. The coaching staff as well as the players were clearly anxious to get Farrell back on court. “It was a particular treat to watch [Farrell] back in action and competing with exemplary fight and courage in his three-set comeback victory,” said Thomson. On de Quant, he added, “[he] is also continuing to get healthier and healthier and matched Noah’s focused matchplay against Williams with a rock-solid performance.”
And it wasn’t just those returning from injury who impressed last weekend. De Quant added, “We competed very hard, and guys showed grit and determination down 3–0 against Williams.” Cuba fit this description well. Though he suffered his third loss of the season, he pushed Brian Grodecki to a marathon third-set tiebreak. This put the Panthers down 4–2. Any more singles wins for Williams would seal the match. The next three matches proved incredibly close. Schlanger won the first set in his match at No. 4, but lost the next two, sealing the match for Williams. The dense bottom of Middlebury’s ladder again proved too strong. The Panthers have dominated at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots, going 12–2 at both positions. Saturday was no different, as first-year Andre Xiao ’21 picked up an impressive ninth win this spring. Even so, Xiao himself needed a tiebreak to win, and van der Geest rounded out the scoring with a marathon comeback win, 10–8, in the third set. These wins did have significant meaning, assured Thomson, who said, “We are definitely remaining steadfast in our belief that each of these match experiences will bolster our resilience and also [provide] feedback on what we need to work on moving forward to increase the probability of pulling through when it matters most, toward the end of the year.” The final score was 5–4 for the Ephs.
“The team had to bounce back quickly and definitely responded brilliantly, getting a victory over a very tough Tufts team on the road,” Thomson said. The Panthers indeed had little time to waste or worry, with no small task in beating Tufts on the road the very next day. However, they started on the road to redemption early, winning two out of three doubles matches in convincing fashion. Though they struggled at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, the Panthers again dominated down the ladder, winning matches in the fourth through sixth slots, highlighted by a 6–1, 6–2 win by Schlanger.
At No. 1, Cuba also proved unfazed by yesterday’s close defeat and made quick work of Tufts’ Rohan Gupte. De Quant praised the performance of Xiao and Nate Eazor ’21.
“Two freshmen closed out our match against an inspired Tufts team, in difficult conditions and with huge pressure, so there are a lot of great things to take away from this weekend,” de Quant said. “Overall, we are on the right path upwards and have an amazing group of competitors top to bottom, so I am very positive going into the Bowdoin weekend.”
Remaining hopeful and rightfully pleased with the Tufts result, de Quant couldn’t help but make reference to this coming weekend’s slate. Current No. 2 Bowdoin will come over to Middlebury to face the Panthers on their home courts.
With everyone back from injury and in the swing of things, don’t take Midd’s losses to top-ranked CMS and Williams as indicative of a result this weekend. Undefeated Bowdoin has dominated numerous ranked opponents this year, including CMS, but be ready to watch the Panthers shake the rankings up again with their full lineup ready to go.
(04/04/18 9:00am)
The men’s tennis team is coming off a bevy of west coast matches, playing seven matches in six days. The Panthers went 5–2 on the week in the Golden State, losing tight contests to DII Azusa Pacific as well as to regional powerhouse Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Highlighting the trip were two strong wins over No. 12 Pomona-Pitzer and DII UC San Diego.
Take the losses over break with a grain of salt, however. The Panthers are still recovering from injuries to multiple key players and expect to remain in the hunt for a national championship. An injury sustained in the fourth match of the spring, against MIT, has kept out Noah Farrell ’19. Head coach Bob Hansen says that Farrell’s presence is missed.
“He is one of the best players in the country and we missed his presence in both singles and doubles,” Hansen said. In addition to Farrell’s absence this spring, William de Quant ’18 played his first singles match of the season on the last day of the trip against CMS.
De Quant nearly won it, too, losing in three sets to nationally ranked No. 28 Jack Katzman.
De Quant should be able to take something positive out of this first performance of the spring, especially after a strong fall season that saw him make a run to the final of the MIT Fall Invitational, losing in a close three setter to Williams standout Austin Barr.
“I am still pondering what separated us from CMS,” said Hansen, who said he is evaluating “how best to prepare for the many challenges ahead.”
Despite the injuries, coach Hansen remains confident in his team and has no reason other than to expect “a strong effort the rest of the way.”
Though they fell short in a much-anticipated match against No. 6 CMS, simply playing the Stags was good for the Panthers.
“Spring break was an incredible experience with our team,” said assistant coach Andrew Thomson. “There is something about the traveling and competing together as a group on the road which promotes development where we become even more tightly bound together as a group.”
The Panthers do have a lot to be happy about and take away from the trip. Nate Eazor ’21 had a successful day against the 14th ranked Division II team Azusa Pacific, winning two straight tie breakers at the No. 5 spot to win 7–6 (7–5), 7–6 (7–5). Eazor also teamed up with fellow first-year Andre Xiao ’21 in doubles to win 8–5. Xiao and as well as Lubomir Cuba ’19 both suffered their first loss of the spring in close fashion. The rest of the matches saw Azusa handle the Panthers in a relatively dominant manner in both singles and doubles.
After some time off from competition, the Panthers found themselves in Claremont two days later and put their first lost behind them, beating UC Santa Cruz 5–4.
Cuba and Kyle Schlanger ’18 kept up their near perfect doubles campaign to earn the sole doubles point for the Panthers in a dominant 8–2 win.
Cuba continued his hot streak in singles, coming back from a first set loss to overcome Santa Cruz’s Chad Le Duff. While the slugs of Santa Cruz were too much for the Panthers at the No. 2 and No. 3 slots, Middlebury once again demonstrated their incredible depth as they swept positions No. 3–5. In addition to strong straight set wins from Xiao and Eazor, this was highlighted by a comeback by Alex Vanezis ’20 that resulted in a 6–0 win in the third and decisive set. A 9–0 rout of Merrimack, a confident 8–1 win against No. 12 Pomona-Pitzer, and a win against DII UC San Diego gave the Panthers confidence on the warm days leading up to the long-awaited matchup against CMS.
When the CMS match finally rolled around, the Panthers found themselves down early, after only one of the doubles teams turned in a win, coming in the form of de Quant’s return as he teamed up with Eazor in an 8–6 victory. Despite de Quant’s and Eazor’s effort, the early deficit was too steep for the Panthers to overcome.
“Many factors contributed to the difference in scores between us and CMS. First and foremost, they played better than we did,” Hansen said.
Even for an 8–1 loss, it would be entirely inaccurate to say that CMS blew Middlebury out of the water, as four of the six singles matches went to a third set or included a tie-break.
Schlanger had perhaps the tightest match, losing 1–6, 6–2, 7–6 (9–7), and Hansen said he believes Schlanger was right on the cusp of victory.
Despite the final score against CMS and the marginal losses, the coaching staff was quick to rattle of some valuable takeaways from the Panthers’ final match of the trip west, as well as the week as a whole. For one, the Panthers got a feel for the courts at CMS.
“CMS is hosting the NCAA tournament and their courts are quite unique so playing there on Spring Break will serve us well assuming we put together a strong finish to qualify for a nice run [to the NCAA tournament],” said Hansen, who remembers the loss his team suffered to CMS in the semifinals of the same tournament last year in May.
“The loss to CMS provides ample feedback and motivation for us to continue to get better,” Thomson said, “but we remain steadfast in our feeling that if we play to our capability we can compete with anyone in the country. Our job now is to stay humble, stay hungry, and to continue to pour our hearts into each and every practice and match to put ourselves in the best possible position for postseason play.”
Thomson and the team are definitely excited about the next matches against No. 5 Williams and No. 15 Tufts this weekend. With such important conference matchups on the horizon, and more national rankings implications ahead with Williams, who just upset CMS, Thomson said the team can’t afford to miss a beat.
“The Nescac is one of the deepest conferences in DIII,” Thomson said. “Each weekend here on out will provide us with a stringent test that will allow us to measure where we are at and where we still need to improve.”
(03/21/18 10:08pm)
The men’s tennis team is coming off of another successful weekend after a recent shake-up atop the Oracle ITA Division III National Rankings.
Despite their hot start, the Panthers have moved down one spot, to No. 4 in the country, as of the Thursday, March 15 rankings release. Displacing the Panthers is Bowdoin, thundering from No. 4 to No. 2 after a successful spring break trip where the Polar Bears beat a handful of ranked opponents. Among the Polar Bears’ victims include now-No. 3 West Coast powerhouse Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Middlebury will have its own chance to face off against prominent West Coast teams such as Claremont and Pomona-Pitzer starting this coming weekend as it flies out to southern California for its spring break trip. For now, the Panthers are focused on maintaining their standing one of the top teams in the Northeast.
The Panthers certainly did not hurt their case for a higher ranking after a packed slate of matches last weekend that included two top-25-ranked teams and Nescac foe Colby. Middlebury met up with the Mules at Dartmouth for a neutral-site match last Friday, March 16, and promptly took advantage of the short drive, besting Colby 9–0.
For the second time already this season, the Panthers did not drop a single doubles set and won 3–0. Kyle Schlanger ’18 played his first match in the No. 1 position on Friday and stepped up in a big way to beat Colby’s former three-star recruit Scott Altmeyer 6–1, 6–0. The rest of the Panthers singles players were also playing their first matches in their respective ladder spots, as well. They nonetheless dominated the Mules.
After No. 2 Timo van der Geest ’18 fended off tough opposition from Sumukh Pathi for a 7–5 win in the deciding set, the Panthers proved far too strong down the ladder. Positions No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, played by Alex Vanezis ’20, Nate Eazor ’21 and Andre Xiao ’21, respectively, saw emphatic victories for a young Panther contingent. Along with that, Adam Guo ’21 won a critical tie-break against Jeremy Mendoza en route to a 7–6, (7–3), 6–4 victory to round out the singles scoring.
After dispatching Colby, the team then traveled to Massachusetts to take on No. 21 MIT and No. 19 Brandeis on Saturday.
First up were the MIT Engineers, who were coming off of a loss to No. 17 Tufts and who last year went 18–5 and finished their season with a run to the NCAA regional final.
Lubo Cuba ’19 resumed his spot at the top of the singles ladder and had a strong win over MIT’s Tyler Barr to move to 2–0 on the season in dual matches. Schlanger had a decisive win over Sean Ko at the No. 3 spot to preserve his perfect dual-match record as well.
The Panthers ran into trouble down the ladder, as van der Geest lost a 10–2 super tie-break at No. 4 to MIT’s Victor Cheng, and Vanezis fell in straight sets to Charles Deng at No. 5. After Noah Farrell ’19 had to retire early in the first set of his first dual match of the year, Middlebury found themselves down 2–3 in singles.
However, Eazor came back after losing the first set 6–1 to win in the super tie-break, to notch his fourth dual-match win and preserve his perfect record as well. He also leveled the singles score for the Panthers who, luckily for them, had already swept the doubles thanks in part to a flawless 8–0 win by Farrell and Peter Martin ’19, who made his first appearance in a dual match.
Thus, though singles play proved tougher than expected, the Panthers’ rock-solid doubles teams, who haven’t lost a match in dual play this season, stole the show for the 6–3 win.
The Panthers left Cambridge and drove to Natick Racquet Club on the same day for a match up against Brandeis, who recently jumped Bates in the national rankings after besting the Bobcats 5–4 at home. The Panthers, however, weren’t bothered by the earlier match at MIT or the quick turnaround.
To start, the Panthers swept the doubles with ease, all three pairs preserving their respective perfect doubles records on the season. In the singles, Schlanger turned in a near-perfect performance against Brandeis’ Anupreeth Coramutla, a two-star recruit out of Phillips Academy Andover, at the No. 2 spot, winning 6–1, 6–0. Keeping up the scoring were three consecutive straight-sets wins to put the Panthers up 7–0 in the match. Vanezis and van der Geest went to a tie-break third set in their matches, but both came out victorious to seal the 9–0 victory for Middlebury over a strong Brandeis team.
Looking forward, the undefeated Panthers will ship out to sunny southern California when classes end tomorrow as they look to make the most of spring break and pick up non-conference wins against a handful of West Coast teams.
Middlebury has to be looking forward to the second weekend of the visit, as it culminates in a highly anticipated match against No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
The No. 4 Panthers will have had time by that point to adjust to the sunny skies and time change and will take on the CMS Stags on their turf in a match with national ranking implications. Cuba, Eazor, Schlanger, and Xiao are all undefeated in dual matches, not to mention the fact that the Panthers haven’t lost a singles match at the No. 1 or No. 6 spots. Add in that Middlebury has yet to drop a doubles match all spring. The Panthers have the depth as well as the strength at the top to win big next week, and with six matches in as many days, they’ll be ready for a big match against top-ranked CMS.