The fourth-ranked Middlebury men's tennis team topped seventh-ranked Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) by a score of 5-2 in NCAA Quarterfinal action on Monday morning at the United States Tennis Association National Campus in Orlando, Florida. The Panthers (21-2) advance to the semifinal round for the 12th time in program history and will take on #2 Case Western Reserve University at 10:00 a.m. with a trip to the championship match on the line. The Bears finish the season with a record of 16-10, while two athletes will compete in the individual tournament later in the week.
Aidan Harris and
Noah Laber earned the first point for Middlebury in the second spot against Bears' Scott Yamamoto and Jeremy Ouyang. Knotted 1-1, the pair won a pair of games to increase the advantage to 3-1. Harris and Laber continued their momentum, taking a 7-4 lead. The point-clinching game was a back-and-forth affair, with both duos trading advantages. Led by several nice serves from Laber, the Panthers were able to win the 12th game for the 8-4 victory.
The Middlebury tandem of
Neel Epstein and
Zachary Hilty jumped out to a 5-1 lead at #3. The WashU pair of Jared Phillips and Gaurav Singh battled back and cut the deficit to three (7-4). Tied at 30-30 in the 12th game, Epstein and Hilty grinded it out for the 8-4 win.
The point in the top spot featured a fierce battle between Panthers
Stan Morris and
David Vilys and Bears Daniel Li and Abhi Ramireddy. Middlebury took a decisive 3-0 lead, but WashU battled back to knot the match 3-3. The Panthers slowly increased the advantage back out to three (6-3) behind several slim victories. Trailing 7-5, the Bears won a pair of games to make it 7-7 and force the match into a tiebreaker. Middlebury took a 5-0 lead, but WashU wouldn't go away and came from behind to tie the score at 6-6. Knotted at 8-8, Vilys sent a powerful unreturnable serve over the net to give the Panthers a 9-8 edge, before earning the final point for the 8-7 (8) score.
Harris put Middlebury within striking distance to win with a straight-set victory in the third spot during singles. He won his first set 6-3, before closing out the match with a 6-1 second-set victory.
WashU tallied a pair of points to cut the deficit in half (4-2). Li won in the second slot (6-2, 6-1), before Phillips earned a point at #5 (6-4, 6-2).
The Panthers clinched the match at the top of the lineup. Morris won his first set in a tiebreaker (7-6(5)), before dropping just one game in the second set for a 6-1 final score to help Middlebury advance with a 5-2 triumph. The victory marked the 50th career singles win for Morris.
