The third-ranked Panther men's tennis team opened the 2017 spring portion of its schedule with an 8-1 NESCAC victory against #26 Bates (0-4). The home match was played indoors in the Duke Nelson Recreation Center. Middlebury returns to action next Saturday at home against Brandeis at 9:30 a.m.

During doubles play, the Bobcat tandem of Josh Quijano and Josh Leiner grabbed the team's lone point with an 8-4 victory at No. 3 over Middlebury's Allen Jackson and Timo van der Geest. The No. 1 flight of Lubomir Cuba and William de Quant evened the match at 1-1 via an 8-5 win over Ben Rosen and Chris Ellis, while the No. 2 doubles team of Kyle Schlanger and Peter Martin sent the hosts into the singles play ahead 2-1 with a 9-7 win against Pat Ordway and Jacob Kauppila.

In singles action, the Panthers dropped just one set in the six matches. At No. 4, van der Geest claimed the team's third point with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kauppila, while Schlanger made it a 4-1 score with a victory at No. 3 against Quijano (6-1, 6-4). Cuba clinched the match at No. 1 by 6-4, 6-2 scores against Rosen, while Jackson cruised at No. 5 over Vidyut Yadav (6-1, 6-1). At No. 2, de Quant needed a super breaker to get by Ellis (6-0, 6-7 (9), 10-8), while Alex Vanezis completed the scoring with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Leiner at No. 6.