Friday, March 30, 2012

Panthers Nip #13 Sagehens

The Middlebury Men's Tennis Team pushed their current winning streak to four with a tightly contested victory over the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens.

The Panthers found themselves down 2-1 following doubles play. Sophomore duo Andrew Lebovitz and Brantner Jones put on an impressive display at number one doubles with an 8-3 victory helping the Panthers avoid a sweep.

Sophomore Teddy Fitzgibbons evened things up with a dominating 6-0, 6-2 win at five singles. Zach Bruchmiller kept things going with a 6-1, 7-5 win at six singles.  Pomona-Pitzer moved ahead 4-3 after picking up wins at one and two singles, leaving the match up to junior Spencer Lunghino and sophomore Brantner Jones.  Taking advantage of his huge serve and explosive forehand, Lunghino squared the match yet again with a three set victory at four singles, leaving the match to be decided by Brantner Jones. Jones dropped the first set before storming back, taking the second set 7-5 and then routing junior Max Sabel of Pitzer College 6-0 in the third set. The team credited the Lady Panthers with helping give the match the feel of a home one. During a post game meeting, freshman Peter Heidrich was quoted as saying, "The girls came up huge for us today. It definitely felt like a home match." Also coming up big for the Panthers were player-coaches David Farah and Will Oberrender.

The Panthers will be back in action tomorrow at 2 pm against CMS.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Spring Break Update


The Middlebury Men’s Tennis Team is set to face off against Pomona-Pitzer this afternoon in a matchup featuring two of the top thirteen teams in division three. Following today’s match with Pomona-Pitzer, the number seven ranked Panthers will face off against number eighteen CMS tomorrow at 2 pm pacific time.

A little less than a week into their spring break trip to California, the Panthers have enjoyed a successful run so far in California. Following a close loss to NAIA standout Vanguard, the Panthers have notched wins against Concordia 7-2, Biola 9-0, and Glendale Community College 8-1. Each member of the Panther squad has had a chance to compete successfully during the trip so far. Following two days of split squad matches, the Panthers competed against both UC Santa Cruz and Pomona-Pitzer in day of exhibition matches. A high level of play and an overall excellent team dynamic was on full display throughout the series of exhibition matches. Play was highlighted by freshmen Coutney Mountifield’s victory over Pomona Pitzer’s number six player, Uday Singh.

Following Tueday’s exhibition day against Cruz and Pomona-Pitzer, the team enjoyed a day off from competition Wednesday. While some members of the team chose to get in a little more tennis, several Panthers headed to Huntington Beach for an afternoon of relaxation. Once at the beach, some team members took part in a little beach football where the quick release and strong arm of sophomore Brantner Jones was on full display. After a great day at the beach and on the tennis courts, all of the Panthers met up for a terrific meal in Redlands that was graciously hosted by the family of junior Panther Will Oberrender. A special thank you to the Oberrender family.

As we head into the most critical part of our spring break schedule we would like to thank all those that made the trip possible with their generous support. The overall effect of this trip will have a profound impact on our journey this season. If our efforts to this point are any indication, we are headed in a very fun, productive and successful direction. 

Best wishes, Coaches Kent and Hansen

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Spring Season Update

After defeating the visiting Tufts Jumbos yesterday 9-0, the Middlebury Men's tennis team hit the courts today for an intersquad match. With weather in the high 60's today and little wind to contest with, the Panthers relished in the opportunity to play outside for the first time in weeks. Several matches were highly contested including a pair of three set matches featuring Spencer Lunghino versus Zach Bruchmiller and Courtney Mountifield versus Andrew Lebovitz. Lunghino and Mountifield prevailed in third set super tiebreakers with some great tennis on display throughout both matches. A well deserved day off from training is in store for Midd tomorrow.

As spring break approaches, the coaching staff would like to thank everyone involved in the fundraising effort that has taken place so far. We are closing in on our goal for the trip, and you can keep updated with how close we are by visiting http://blogs.middlebury.edu/middgoal/2012/01/15/mens-tennis-spring-trip-2012/. Thank you again to all who have donated thus far and our sincere appreciation to anyone who can help us reach our goal as we move forward.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Panthers Sweep Triple Header

The Middlebury Men's Tennis teams started off their season in impressive fashion Saturday, sweeping a triple header. In the opening split squad doubleheader, Midd swept Hamilton 9-0, while also knocking off Brandeis 8-1.  The Panthers capped off the day with a 9-0 victory over NYU.  

After not dropping a doubles match all day, the Panthers moved to 3-0 on the young season with a matchup against conference foe Bates set for tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm. Visit http://www.middlebury.edu/athletics/sports/menstennis for more updates on the weekend's action.  

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Season Nears Kickoff

The start of the 2011-2012 men's tennis spring season is set to begin this Saturday at 3 pm in the Nelson Center.  The Panthers will take on Hamilton and Brandeis in a set of split squad matches Saturday afternoon before facing NYU after the completion of the first two matches.  The Hamilton match is set for a 3 pm start in the Bubble, while the match against Brandeis should start around 4 pm at the Nelson Areana indoor courts.  The opening weekend concludes with a Sunday afternoon match against Bates at 2 pm.  Due to scheduling issues, the Bates match was moved back to 2 pm after originally being scheduled for 12 pm.

Coaches and players could not be more excited with only a few days left before the season officially kicks off.  The level of training leading up to the start of the regular season has been incredible.  Each member of the squad has shown a great deal of improvement since spring practices resumed.  Also, the coaching staff has been beyond thrilled with the leadership displayed so far this year.  This year's freshmen class has mad tremendous strides on and off the court since the start of the academic year, while returning members of the team have gone above and beyond in furthering their efforts to strengthen leadership roles on the team.

We would like to sincerely thank everyone for their support of the program and also say that we look forward to things getting officially rolling this Saturday afternoon.  Hope to see many of you this weekend and beyond as the season begins.

Go Midd!