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Annica Nassiry

#11 Women’s Tennis Gears Up to Host NESCAC Championship

The 11th-ranked Middlebury women's tennis team has earned the third seed in the upcoming NESCAC Tournament. The host Panthers meet #19/sixth-seeded Williams in the quarterfinals on Friday at 1:00 p.m. Matches are set to be played on the program's Outdoor Tennis Courts, with alternate indoor locations at the Nelson Recreation Center and Middlebury Indoor Tennis facility.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

  • The program makes its 24th appearance in the league tournament. 
  • Middlebury hosts the championship for the seventh time. Amherst is the other institution to host the postseason event on seven occasions.
  • The squad claimed its initial conference crown a campaign ago with a 4-1 victory over Wesleyan. Middlebury is one of four schools to hoist the trophy, joining Williams (10), Amherst (nine) and Wesleyan (five).
  • The Panthers sport a 19-17 record in NESCAC postseason action. The Mammoths have the most victories with 26, followed by the Ephs (22).
  • Bowdoin and Middlebury each posted an 8-2 mark in conference play. The Polar Bears defeated the Panthers on Sunday to secure the head-to-head tiebreaker for the second seed. The navy and white land in the third slot for the first time since 2012. 
  • Middlebury capped the regular season with a 12-5 record and earned seven or more conference wins for the fifth campaign in a row.

PANTHERS TO WATCH

  • Elsie Van Wieren has held down the top spot, sporting a team-best 14-3 record in singles action during this calendar year. The sophomore owns a 10-2 mark during doubles alongside partner Anna Lardner.
  • At #2, Lardner is tied for fourth on the squad with 11 victories.
  • Lulu Wu has played at both the third and fourth positions, logging a 7-6 record. Alongside partner Ananya Annapantula, the pair has grabbed eight wins and finished the regular season with one blemish in NESCAC action.
  • Rookie Ren Barton continues to excel, sitting third on the team in singles victories (12) during the 2026 portion of the season.
  • Charlotte McCann is second with 13 wins in the spring and recently earned her 45th career victory.
  • Closing out the bottom of the lineup, Elizabeth Doak has lost just one match during dual action and is one of five Panthers to have double-digit victories. Diya Pachamuthu has also seen action with a 4-0 mark in conference matches.

ABOUT WILLIAMS

  • Williams earned a spot in the league bracket for the 24th time and is seeking its 11th NESCAC Championship.
  • The Ephs capped the regular season with an 11-7 mark and a 5-5 record in conference action.
  • Williams looks to make the semifinals for the 15th time since the NESCAC switched from a flighted system in 2006.

EPHS TO WATCH

  • Mia Thomann has held down the top flight in recent matches, with three of her six triumphs coming in that slot.
  • Pacing the team with 14 wins is Ayanna Varma. The rookie has played most of her matches in the second (5-2) and fourth (6-0) positions.
  • Julia Zhang owns a 12-5 record in singles entering the week. She has slotted at #3 most of the spring, sporting a 9-1 record. In doubles action, Zhang and teammate Ahn Lin are 8-5 and have four triumphs each at #1 and #2, respectively.
  • Closing out the top performers is Jane Ladaga. She has 10 total victories on the year, including six in the sixth slot.

SERIES HISTORY

  • Middlebury and Williams meet for the 64th time. The purple and gold hold a 42-22 lead in the all-time series. 
  • The Panthers have won seven of the last nine battles, including a 7-0 sweep in Vermont on April 4.
  • The sides have met eight times in the NESCAC Tournament. This year marks the first quarterfinal clash between the Panthers and Ephs.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

  • The 2026 edition of the conference tournament features six teams sitting in the top-25 nationally, including #3 Wesleyan, #11 Middlebury, #13 Tufts, #17 Bowdoin, #18 Amherst and #19 Williams.
  • Wesleyan sports the top seed for the championship at 15-2 and 10-0 in the NESCAC. It marks the third time in the last five seasons that the Cardinals have posted an unblemished conference record. 
  • The red and black seek their sixth conference title in the last eight years.
  • Bowdoin slots as the two seed and will look for its initial NESCAC crown.
  • Amherst closes out the top four and vies for the program's 10th conference championship. 

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

  • The top eight seeds in the conference qualify for the NESCAC Women's Tennis Championship held at Middlebury College. Quarterfinal matches will occur on Friday, May 1, with the winners advancing to the semifinals on Saturday, May 2. The two advancing teams will play for the championship on Sunday, May 3 at 11:00 a.m.
  • This is the second year that each match will be played using the seven-point scoring system. The first team to four points will be the winner.
  • Championship Central

SCHEDULE

  • Friday, May 1
    • Quarterfinals
      • No. 1 Wesleyan vs. No. 8 Colby – 9 a.m.
      • No. 4 Amherst vs. No. 5 Tufts – 9 a.m.
      • No. 2 Bowdoin vs. No. 7 Hamilton – 1 p.m.
      • No. 3 Middlebury vs. No. 6 Williams – 1 p.m.
  • Saturday, May 2
    • Semifinals
      • No. 1/No. 8 Quarterfinal Winner vs. No. 4/No. 5 Quarterfinal Winner – 11:00 a.m.
      • No. 2/No. 7 Quarterfinal Winner vs. No. 3/No. 6 Quarterfinal Winner – 11:00 a.m.
  • Sunday, May 3
    • Finals
      • Semifinal Winners - 11:00 a.m.

The conference champion receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship, while the rest of the field will be revealed on Monday, May 4 at 12:00 p.m.

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