Middlebury sophomore Noah Farrell claimed the Division III singles national title at the USTA/ITA Small College Championships on Saturday morning over Rafe Mosetick of Emory by scores of 6-2, 6-2. With the victory, Farrell records the first singles national title in Panther men's tennis program history. The three-day event was held at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.
Farrell now advances to the "Super Bowl" semifinal, which features the NCAA Division II, NAIA and Junior College national champions. The second-year Panther will square off this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. against NCAA Division II national champion Jan Meyer of Azusa Pacific.
The victor of that draw garners a wild card into the 2015 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, held November 12-15 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, New York.
Farrell earned a spot in this weekend's tournament via his victory during the USTA/ITA Regional final on September 27.
Unseeded in the eight-man Division III national singles draw, he began his run Thursday morning by knocking off defending champion and #2 seed Nicholas Chua of Chicago by scores of 6-2, 6-2. The semifinal round saw a pair of unseeded players with Farrell defeating Gustavus Adolphus' Mohanad Al-Houni in an exciting 6-4, 7-6 (4) decision.
In Saturday morning's final, Farrell ran his fall record to an impressive 15-1 with the straight-set triumph over Mosetick.
During Saturday's afternoon's "Super Bowl" semifinal against Meyer, Farrell fell by set scores of 6-3, 6-2.
He is the first singles player in program history to win a national title, as he joins three doubles teams who have won national doubles crowns. Andrew Thomson and Filip Marinkovic were triumphant in 2007, while Thomson and Andrew Lee stood atop the podium in 2009. Brantner Jones and
Palmer Campbell became the third in six years to win the title in 2013.
