The #14 Middlebury men's tennis team claimed a 4-0 victory on Saturday over #15 Wesleyan in a match played to a decision. The doubles matches were contested at the new Outdoor Tennis Courts, while the singles competition was moved indoors to the Nelson Recreation Center due to weather.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Panthers quickly gained the doubles point. The duo of Noah Laber and Thehan Wijemanne claimed a 6-0 triumph at #1 while tandem Hugh Hentschel and Nikky Kondamuri won 6-1 in the second spot to clinch the point.
- The third match went unfinished as the weather was quickly approaching with the Wesleyan team of Chase Kasday and Brett Keeling ahead 6-5 against Neel Epstein and Reif Larsen.
- Middlebury pushed its lead to 3-0 via wins at #1 and #5. Laber claimed the opening set in the top spot 6-1 and won the first three games before his opponent retired. In the fifth slot, Hentschel eased past Brett Keeling 6-1, 6-0 to put the hosts on the brink.
- Wijemanne clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph in the fourth slot.
- The other three matches went unfinished. Epstein earned a narrow 6-4 opening-set win at #2, but Harry Collomb held a 2-1 edge in the second set. Larsen raced out to a 3-1 lead at #6, while Julian Wu and Max Lustgarten didn't start in the third slot when the outcome was decided.
NOTES
- Laber's win in the top spot was his seventh-straight victory.
- The programs played for the 34th time with the Panthers securing their 15th triumph in the all-time series.
Middlebury wraps up its regular season on Sunday against Trinity at 2:00 p.m. The contest also serves as the program's Senior Day.
