Box Score The Middlebury men's tennis team started its spring trip to California on Saturday evening with an 8-1 victory over Occidental (4-2) at the McKinnon Family Tennis Center in Los Angeles. The Panthers improve to 3-1 and return to the courts Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. EST match at 24th-ranked Pacific.

The Panthers took all three doubles points against the Tigers, as the tandem of Stan Morris and David Vilys earned an 8-5 victory in the top spot. Neel Epstein and Zachary Hilty made it a 2-0 Panther lead with an 8-4 win at #3, while the duo of Aidan Harris and Noah Laber completed the sweep with an 8-6 victory in the second slot.

During singles action, Morris picked up the Panthers' fourth point with a 6-3, 6-1 score at the top of the lineup, while Epstein clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the fifth position.

Zihao Yuan posted a 6-3, 6-0 win at #6 for a 6-0 Panther lead, while Occidental tallied its lone point with a straight-set victory at #4.

Harris made it 7-1 in favor of Middlebury with a 6-2, 7-6 (7) win in the second spot,  before Laber battled for a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 win at #3 for the final 8-1 score.