The #12 Middlebury men's tennis team grabbed the point in doubles and posted five victories in singles play to top Bates 6-1 on Sunday afternoon.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Panthers Noah Laber and Thehan Wijemanne earned a 6-3 win at #1 doubles to get things going.
• The Bobcats battled back to claim a 7-5 triumph in the third spot to force a decider in the middle.
• Neel Epstein and Hugh Hentschel were up to the task, tallying a 7-5 tiebreaker victory for a 7-6 win and the 1-0 edge for Middlebury. 
• Epstein carried that momentum into singles play, easing to a 6-3, 6-1 triumph at #3.
• Laber claimed each set by identical 6-1 score lines in the top spot, before Julian Wu clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-2 win in the second slot.
• Bates secured its only point of the day at #4 as Ben Adey claimed each set by 6-3 scores.
• Wijemanne blanked his opponent in the opening frame in the sixth spot, before winning the second 6-3.
• Hentschel closed out the contest for the Panthers with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph at #5 for the 6-1 victory.

NOTES

• Epstein's singles win was the 70th of his career. 
• The programs played for the 36th time with Middlebury improving to 31-5.

The Panthers remain on the road next weekend, traveling to Maine to take on Bowdoin (Saturday) and Colby (Sunday).