The sixth-ranked Middlebury men's tennis team improved to 4-0 in the NESCAC and 13-2 overall with a 6-2 league victory Friday afternoon over visiting Tufts (3-5, 0-3) in a match played inside Duke Nelson Recreation Center. The Panthers, who move to a perfect 5-0 at home, will return to the courts for a 10:00 a.m. match Sunday when they host second-ranked Emory.

Middlebury secured a 3-0 lead after doubles' play. The region's sixth-ranked tandem of Panthers' Palmer Campbell and Peter Heidrich scored the first point with an 8-2 victory in the top spot over the Jumbos' Benjamin Battle and Nick Cary. The Middlebury tandem of Ari Smolyar and Noah Farrell earned an 8-6 triumph at #2 over Rob Jacobson and Rohan Gupte, while Chris Frost and William de Quant completed the sweep via a 9-7 win against Zain Ali and Griffin Brockman.

In singles play, the Panthers raced out of the blocks and claimed the first three matches in straight sets. Campbell was the first off, posting a 6-1, 6-0 win at #3 over Battle, while Jackson Frons clinched the decisive fifth team point with a 6-4, 6-0 victory against Jacobson in the fourth flight. Smolyar, the region's top-ranked individual, gave Middlebury a 6-0 advantage with a 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 win over Nik Telkedzhiev at #1.

Tufts secured its two points at #2 and #5. Gupte lost the opening set against Farrell in the second spot by a 6-0 score, but rebounded and grabbed the second and third sets by scores of 6-3 and 6-2. In the fifth flight, Ali tallied a 6-3, 6-3 win against Allen Jackson, as the final match at #6 went unfinished with de Quant holding a 6-3 first-set victory against Cary.