Monday, March 11, 2024

Panthers (5-0) Get Out to a Strong Start

It has been an exciting start to the year with our group racking up five straight wins! Our triumphs included wins over a D-II opponent and three wins over nationally ranked teams including Bates (#39), Brandeis (#20), and Tufts (#5). Our team has highlighted our impressive depth throughout our roster with 100% of our players earning a win across these matches, and a fantastic blend of veteran and underclassmen performances. We know we have played some solid tennis, but that with continued hard work and refinement we can push ourselves to play even better than our current clip. The coaches have been continually impressed by this group’s dedication, and their hunger to continue to get better will certainly serve us well as we prepare for many more exciting and fun challenges ahead (see our spring break schedule below)!

Hugh Hentschel serving up some early season wins with his teammates!

Brandeis University (Midd wins 7-2)

Kicking off our season with a strong opponent, the doubles was intensely contested in this one. Paced by a strong win at #3 doubles (Wu/Lewis) and then a gutsy comeback win at #1 doubles (Epstein/Ward), the Panthers came away with a 2-1 lead headed into singles play. Our squad began to settle in to the dual match environment, and hit hard from all positions earning 5 of 6 singles wins, with the only dropped match being a hard fought 3-set battle. See the full box score here.

Noah Lewis and Nathan Jackson came ready to rumble!

Skidmore College (Midd wins 9-0)

Showing off both our depth and hunger in the second-half of our opening day double-header, the Panthers were amped up to compete. A special note about this match beyond solid play from top to bottom, is that all three of our Freshmen Panthers earned decisive straight set wins, marking the first dual match victories in singles play for each of them simultaneously! See the full box score here.

Saint Michael’s College (Midd wins 9-0)

During another double-header day, the Panthers came out swinging versus our first DII opponent this year. We came out charging in doubles play and never looked back in this one. Across many great highlights, senior standouts Maximus Kim and Andrew Mueller finished off this match in style with impressive straight set victories to secure the match. See the full box score here.

Bates College (Midd wins 9-0)

In our second match of the day, the Panthers simply showed no let up in this one. We took the momentum from the jump, with impressive doubles wins at #1-3 doubles (8-5, 8-5, and 8-3) by Epstein/Ward, Laber/Harris, and Hentschel/Mairs respectively. This is no easy task against a solid Bates team that always comes to play and always has strong doubles. From there, the Panthers took all six singles matches in straight set style, playing to our own high standards across the board. See the full box score here.

Noah Laber and Aidan Harris throwback photo!

Tufts (Midd wins 6-3)

Anytime we take on a top-5 nationally ranked opponent, we know we need to be prepared for a good battle. The match was an exciting one from start to finish, and we had to hit hard across all 9 positions before Tufts finally relinquished the match. In doubles play, we came out strong earning excellent wins at #2 doubles (Laber/Harris) and #3 doubles (Mairs/Hentschel) to get out to a 2-0 lead. Putting the pressure on, our #1 doubles pair (Epstein/Ward) nearly gave us the doubles sweep but fell just short in a tiebreaker. We love that we competed well and put ourselves in great positions across the board in doubles and in singles too. In singles play, we earned 3 impressive and decisive straight set wins at #2 singles (Wu), #3 singles (Ward), and #5 singles (Epstein). Our only two singles losses came in three-set battles, but our 5th clinching point was earned via a third set tiebreaker where #6 singles (Hentschel) posted an awesome 7-0 tiebreak win to secure the victory for the Panthers! See the full box score here.

Julian Wu (Juju) calm and collected per usual!

Neel Epstein bringing the focus!

Spring Break

Next up on our journey is our spring break trip to SoCal, which is always a highlight both on the courts and off. As we transition to more outdoor matches and play a slate of challenging opponents throughout the week, it will be a great test and way to push our games to grow to new heights. Beyond the matches, traveling together and sharing the bonds that often become fully forged on the road will continue to build our already strong comradery. Check out our Spring Break Schedule below and as always you can check out our schedule/results page to check out our live scoring and live streaming.



Go Midd!

Cheers,

The Middlebury Tennis Coaching Staff


Friday, February 9, 2024

Let Our 2024 Spring Journey Begin

We want to share with you our excitement for the upcoming dual match season, with our first practices getting underway at the beginning of February and our first dual matches beginning with a doubleheader on March 3rd! Let’s go! We begin the year ranked #2 in the ITA pre-season national poll, and cannot wait to compete and build on this. Our group this year is a special blend of hungry, experienced, and deep. In this blog post we spotlight our freshmen class, share our Spring 2024 dual match schedule, and share our collective enthusiasm for what is shaping up to be an exciting spring season! 

Our team worked incredibly hard this J-Term, and the coaches are beyond pleased with the leadership our players are demonstrating across the board. Each of our Panthers has been consistent in taking ownership to explore their tennis potential throughout our developmental season. Moreover, our team is about working hard and working together, striving to push our collective level more than just on our own. Each part of our training will serve to position us well and to ensure we can fully know that we put our full hearts into striving for our biggest goals. Another key shout out the coaching staff wants highlight is that our players really stepped up during our community service project in December where we partnered with the HOPE foundation to provide holiday gifts to families in need in Addison County. Our players had a blast and gathered a huge number of toys and needed items this holiday season!

Freshmen Spotlights 

From left to right: Nikky Kondamuri, Thehan Wijemanne, and Noah Lewis

Nikky Kondamuri:
  • Hometown: Munster, Indiana 
  • Siblings: Two older brothers
  • Favorite Food: Pasta with bacon bits
  • Favorite Hobby Outside of Tennis: FaceTiming close friends from high school
  • Pets: Dog (Milo)
  • Favorite Pro Tennis Player: Tommy Paul
  • Best Part About Being in Vermont: Skiing and being with nature in general 
  • Favorite Thing About Middlebury College So Far: The outgoing/friendly people and the easiness in being able to make new friends

Noah Lewis:
  • Hometown: Gaithersburg, Maryland 
  • Siblings: Younger sister, Mika
  • Favorite Food: Japanese Katsu Curry
  • Favorite Hobby Outside of Tennis: Hanging out with friends, golfing, fishing, watching sports.
  • Pets: None
  • Favorite Pro Tennis Player: Rafa Nadal
  • Best Part About Being in Vermont: Nature, snow
  • Favorite Thing About Middlebury College So Far: The team, people I've met, the campus views.

Thehan Wijemanne:
  • Hometown: Colombo, Sri Lanka 
  • Siblings: Younger brother, Methvan
  • Favorite Food: Sri Lankan food
  • Favorite Hobby Outside of Tennis: Playing poker, Hanging out with friends
  • Pets: None
  • Favorite Pro Tennis Player: Rafel Nadal
  • Best Part About Being in Vermont: Peaceful environment
  • Favorite Thing About Middlebury College So Far: Teammates, Atwater dining hall

2024 Spring Schedule 
Check out our finalized 2024 Spring Schedule below. We loaded up a challenging schedule to really test ourselves and provide as many opportunities as possible to grow and build our resilience and strength during the phases of the season. We will play some of the toughest competition in DIII, as well as some challenging matches against non-DIII opponents. See our schedule graphic below, and you can also click here to always have the latest updates on our spring schedule.



Alumni Match Weekend (April 27th and 28th)
Alumni match weekend will take place April 27-28, when we host Bowdoin on Saturday and Colby on Sunday. We will plan to host a get together with alumni who join us after the match on Saturday.

Thanks for reading along and stay tuned for more updates! Go Midd!

- The Middlebury Men’s Tennis Coaching Staff