The fifth-ranked Middlebury men's tennis team began the spring portion of its season hosting #19 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Saint Michael's. The Panthers topped the Engineers 5-2 and blanked the Purple Knights 7-0.

This year, Division III is piloting the seven-point system for scoring, where winning two-of-three doubles provides one point.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. RPI

• Middlebury grabbed the first point with a pair of victories in doubles action. Julian Wu and Reif Larsen cruised to a 6-1 triumph at #3, before Hugh Hentschel and Thehan Wijemanne claimed a 6-2 win in the second position.
• The Panthers increased their lead to 3-0 with straight-set triumphs from Noah Lewis at #4 (6-3, 6-0) and Noah Laber at #2 (6-3, 6-3).
• RPI cut the deficit to one (3-2) with tight wins at #1 and #3. 
• Hentschel clinched the match with identical 6-2 victories in the fifth slot.
• The contest at #6 was a battle, with Wijemanne coming out on top after falling in the first set (2-6, 6-4, 6-1) for the 5-2 win.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. SAINT MICHAEL'S

• Middlebury got out to a quick start, sweeping doubles action to take a 1-0 edge. The top duo of Lewis and Wu won 6-1, while Neel Epstein and Sidney Huet followed at #3 (6-2) and the #2 tandem of Nikky Kondamuri and Larsen triumphed 6-3.
• The winning ways continued in singles action, as #4 Larsen (6-0, 6-1), #3 Wijemanne (6-0, 6-1) and #2 Lewis (6-1, 6-1) relinquished just four games collectively for a 4-0 score.
• Epstein claimed 6-2 and 6-3 triumphs to clinch the match at the top of the lineup.
• Kondamuri (6-1, 6-2) and Huet (6-1, 6-4) closed the contest with triumphs in the fifth and sixth slots, respectively.

NOTES

• The Panthers and the Engineers played for the 61st time, while Middlebury has won all 37 matches in the series against the Purple Knights.

The Panthers remain home next weekend, hosting Hamilton on Saturday and Amherst on Sunday.