Thursday, April 9, 2015

New York and Williams Roundup

Panther Fans,

The Panthers were on the road again last weekend, paying Skidmore and Hamilton College Saturday visits before rushing back to Midd to host Conn College on Sunday.

Jackson and the Lazer
Against Skidmore we came out slow in doubles and nearly got swept. However, thanks to a courageous comeback on court 3 by senior leader, Chris, and freshman Will, we found ourselves up 2-1 headed into singles. Chris and Will dug themselves out of a 2-7 deficit to win their match 9-7. Ari and Noah put on another impressive display at the 2 spot.

The singles was dominated by the Panthers; convincing victories from Jackson, Palmer, and Ari sealed the win for us.

Meanwhile, a second group loaded a van and pushed off for Hamilton College to play the doubles of our second dual match of the day while the first group put the finishing touches on Skidmore. The second group ran into some major navigational challenges and didn't arrive at Hamilton until the first group had finished their singles against Skidmore AND made the drive to Hamilton. Those involved are still scratching their heads how this was possible.

Nevertheless, we were in good form against Hamilton and their boisterous fans, winning 8-1.

The match against Conn College also displayed Panther power in a match which was a 9-0 boat race from the beginning.

Will listening closely
A few days of practice and the Panthers were ready for a rumble with Williams in Nelson arena just yesterday.  A large portion of our training as of late has been in building a higher rally tolerance and the ability to put more balls on the deck by making 100 in a row in practice. This training was evident against Williams as we simply were more solid than the Ephs at many positions. We started the outing with excellent doubles play at all 4 spots. Peter and Palmer played at the level we know they have together and dispatched a tough Williams team at the top spot. Their continued hard work has them sitting as one of the top teams in the NESCAC.

After a Midd doubles sweep, Ari and Noah blitzed their opponents in singles to hand us the 5-0 match win. We played out all other spots, seeing highlights from Timo, Kyle, and Jack. Timo's quite hard work and match discipline has turned him into one of the team's most improved players so far this season. Kyle's exhibition match showcased his impressive net playing ability and assured both coaches that he will be an integral part of our team's talent in coming years. Jack also put up an impressive fight against the top doubles player from Williams at the 8 spot.
Ari slashing

Midd finished up with an 8-1 drumming of Williams and now we quickly turn our focus to the next several days where we face Tufts on Friday and a talented Emory team on Sunday, which will hopefully be the start to outdoor tennis in Midd as temperatures near 60.

We hope to see many familiar faces this Saturday night at our senior celebration event at the 51 Main Restaurant. We will be celebrating the wonderful contributions of seniors Chris Frost, Peter Heidrich, and Courtney Mountifield. All are welcome to attend. Please email us for further details.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Go Midd!

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