Second-seeded Middlebury advanced to the NESCAC Championship match for the third-consecutive year with a 5-3 win Saturday over sixth-seeded Williams (13-7) in a match played at the Bennington Tennis Courts in Bennington, Vermont. The Panthers (18-2) will take on fourth-seeded Bowdoin, a 5-0 victor over top-seeded Wesleyan, at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning for the crown.

Against the Ephs, Middlebury secured a 2-1 advantage at the conclusion of the doubles matches. The Panthers scored the opening point when the tandem of Lubomir Cuba and William de Quant posted an 8-4 win over Williams' Brian Grodecki and Alex Taylor at No. 1. In the second flight, the Ephs got on the scoreboard when Rohan Shastri and Jordan Sadowsky earned an 8-3 victory against Hamid Derbani and Kyle Schlanger. At No. 3, Middlebury's Timo van der Geest and Peter Martin gave the Panthers a 2-1 advantage headed to singles when the duo bested Sachin Raghaven and Ben Lebowitz by an 8-5 count.

During singles play, the Ephs picked up the first point to knot the match at 2-2 when Raghaven defeated Derbani by scores of 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3. At No. 2, de Quant gave the Panthers a 3-2 edge when he defeated Grodecki in straight sets (6-2, 7-6 (4)).

Williams knotted the match at 3-3 when Ananth Raghaven needed three sets to get past van der Geest at No. 5 (6-1, 2-6, 6-1).

The Panthers secured the final two points with victories at No. 1 and No. 4. Cuba eased past Shastri in straight sets atop the lineup (6-1, 6-3), while Schlanger defeated Deepak Indrakanti in the fourth spot (6-2, 6-1) to clinch the match.

In the lone match that went unfinished, Allen Jackson dropped the first set to Sadowsky (6-4), but led in the second set by a 3-1 tally.