Middlebury advanced to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship match for the second-straight season and sixth time in program history with a 5-2 win over eighth-ranked Chicago. The semifinal match was played at the Stowe Tennis Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The third-ranked Panthers (20-2) will play fourth-ranked Bowdoin, a 5-4 winner over #1 Emory, on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. The Maroons finish their season at 18-6.
Tuesday's matchup was the second in as many NCAA Tournaments between the two programs, with Middlebury defeating Chicago last spring by a 5-1 tally in the semifinals in Cincinnati.
Middlebury jumped out to a 2-1 advantage after doubles on Tuesday. Chicago grabbed their lone point of the match as the top pair of Nicolas Chua and David Liu defeated Middlebury's Palmer Campbell and Hamid Derbani by an 8-4 score. The #3 Panther team of William de Quant and Kyle Schlanger evened the match at 1-1 with an 8-3 victory over Chicago's Max Hawkins and Luke Tsai. In the crucial third match at #2, the Middlebury tandem of Ari Smolyar and Noah Farrell won the final two games during an 8-6 win against Peter Leung and Charlie Pei.
In singles play, the Panthers grabbed a 3-1 advantage when de Quant posted a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Pei at #4. In the sixth slot, Chicago made it 4-2 when Leung defeated Schlanger in straight sets by scores of 6-4, 6-2. Minutes later, Derbani gave the Panthers a 4-2 edge with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Tsai in the fifth spot.
With Chicago building momentum and a comeback attempt, the decisive team point was recorded by Campbell at #3 with a grueling 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 win over Chicago's Sven Kranz. Tied in the third at 4-4 and a set apiece, Campbell broke Kranz for a 5-4 lead, as the Chicago player was injured on the final point of the ninth game and forced into a medical timeout. After the break, Campbell lost the first three points to Kranz and trailed 0-40. Campbell fought all the way back to win five-consecutive points, including a forehand that clipped the baseline for the decisive point.
In the other two matches that went unfinished, Farrell dropped the opening set against Chua at #1 (6-3), but rebounded to win set number two 6-2 behind a pair of service breaks of the Maroon player. Chua led 3-2 in the third when the match was decided. At #2, Smolyar dropped the first set against Liu (7-5) and the two were tied 5-5 in the second in a matchup that featured numerous lengthy baseline rallies.
Bowdoin and Middlebury met on April 17 in Vermont with the Panthers earning a 5-4 victory. Bowdoin went out to an early 2-1 lead after doubles, but Middlebury rallied with three-consecutive wins in singles for a 4-2 lead. The Polar Bears responded with two wins, tying at the match at 4-4. In a battle of nationally-ranked foes, Farrell defeated Luke Tercek in #1 singles, giving the Panthers the one-point win.
