The Middlebury women's tennis team posted a pair of impressive victories on Saturday in Maine. The third-ranked Panthers eased past No. 6 Bowdoin (11-4, 5-2) by an 8-1 score, before cruising past Bates, 7-2. Middlebury, which improves to 13-1 overall and 7-0 in the league, returns to action Saturday when it hosts No. 7 Amherst at 1:00 p.m.
Against Bowdoin in the day's first match, Middlebury notched all three points during doubles play. The No. 2 tandem of Katherine Hughes and Skylar Schossberger defeated Izzy Essi and Tasha Christ by an 8-4 score. The Panther team of Christina Puccinelli and Maddi Stow posted an 8-3 win against Sarah Shadowens and Fleming Landau in the third flight, while the No. 1 pair of Heather Boehm and Ann Martin Skelly was victorious by an 8-7 (2) tally over Julia Mark and Devon Wolfe.
In singles action, the Panthers claimed victories in the first three matches to finish. Boehm won for the 12th-straight time by 6-1, 6-0 scores against Marks atop the lineup, Puccinelli defeated Wolfe 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3 and Hughes was victorious 6-4, 6-0 over Christ at the second spot.
The Polar Bears picked up their lone point of the match with a straight-set win at No. 6.
Schossberger earned a 7-5, 6-4 victory at No. 4 over Essi, while Stow needed three sets to get past Sasa Jovanovic at No. 5 (5-7, 6-0, 10-7) for the final 8-1 score.
Following the win, the Panthers traveled north to Bates (6-8, 2-3) to pick up their second win of the day. Middlebury earned all three doubles points, as Stow and Nora Dahl won 8-4 at No. 3 over Isabelle Rovinski and Suzanne Elfman, while Hughes and Schossberger posted an 8-3 victory in the top flight against Bella Stone and Anna Rozin. Skelly and Catherine Blazye were 8-6 victors in the second spot over Hannah Sweeney and Lauren Hernandez.
Middlebury grabbed a 4-0 lead when Stow cruised past Elfman at No. 4 (6-0, 6-1), while Puccinelli blanked Stone in the second flight (6-0, 6-0) to clinch the team's fifth point and the match. Hughes made it 6-0 in favor of the Panthers with a 4-6, 6-2, 10-3 win at No. 1 against Sweeney.
The Bobcats tallied their two points via three-set triumphs at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively. Middlebury's Ruhi Kamdar completed the scoring with a 6-4, 5-7, 10-4 win at the bottom of the lineup for the final 7-2 tally.
