The #7 Middlebury men's tennis team held a 3-2 lead but could not claim the victory in a 4-3 loss at #6 Bowdoin in NESCAC action on Saturday.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The early battle for momentum began in doubles. Bowdoin's #2 duo of Mark Kneiss and Jackson Codd claimed a 6-4 victory before Noah Laber and Thehan Wijemanne countered with a 7-5 triumph in the top slot, setting up a battle at #3 for the opening point.
• Mick Tamas and Aden Dorros pushed the Polar Bears ahead 1-0 via a 7-5 decision.
• Laber knotted the match at 1-1 with his 6-2, 6-2 victory over Kneiss in the top slot.
• Bowdoin countered with a victory at #4 to take a 2-1 edge.
• Middlebury gained its first lead of the match (3-2) with Neel Epstein earning a straight-set victory and Wijemanne grinding out a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 triumph in the fifth slot.
• Kiran Garapati tied the contest at 3-3 with his three-set decision at #6.
• Julian Wu and Pieter Breuker matched up for the decisive seventh point in the second spot. The Panther grabbed a 6-0 victory in the opener, but Breuker earned back-to-back 6-4 triumphs to seal the win for the Polar Bears.

NOTES

• Epstein and Wijemanne each secured their team-leading 16th singles victory of the campaign.
• The programs met for the 55th time.

Middlebury closes its weekend road trip against Colby on Sunday at noon.