Box Score The top-seeded Middlebury men's tennis team (16-2) blanked eighth-seeded Trinity (7-10) in NESCAC Quarterfinal action on Friday at Amherst. The Panthers won 5-0, with all matches during the tournament contested until the one team secures the fifth point to secure the victory. Middlebury will play in semifinal action on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. on Wesleyan's campus, taking on fifth-seeded Amherst. The other semifinal will feature second-seeded Tufts and third-seeded Williams. 
 
Zachary Hilty and Neel Epstein grabbed the first game for Middlebury. The duo went game-for-game in the third spot until the score reached 5-5. Knotted up, the Panther duo won the final three games to secure the 8-5 victory. Tandem Aidan Harris and Noah Laber made it 2-0 with their 20th win together in the second spot. The pair jumped out to a 7-1 lead, before Trinity cut the deficit to three (7-4), but Middlebury tallied the final game for the 8-4 win. The top of the lineup saw a tight battle, with Stan Morris and David Vilys triumphing in a tiebreaker (8-7(5)) to make it 3-0 heading into singles play.
 
The Panthers started singles action strong, claiming the first set in all six spots of the lineup. Hilty pushed the Middlebury advantage to 4-0 with a straight-set triumph (6-2, 6-3) at #4. The victory was Hilty's 25th-career win. Epstein clinched the match with his fifth-straight victory in the fourth spot, cruising past his opponent 6-2, 6-3 for the 5-0 final score.