Big win on the road against Bowdoin, on to this Weekend’s Home Matches

Panther Family,

After a 2-0 effort last weekend against conference opponents Colby College and #4 Bowdoin College, the young men of Middlebury men’s tennis are back in action. This afternoon we will play Trinity of Connecticut, followed by a 2pm match against #8 Wesleyan on Sunday. Our last weekend’s victory over Bowdoin College was a great win, feeding our momentum as we hit the home stretch of our 2017 season with the NCAA’s in sight.

The Saturday morning match against the Polar Bears began with an impressive win by #1 doubles team Will de Quant and Lubomir Cuba (8-4). After a tough loss against Colby the day before, Will and Lubo came out determined, imposing their doubles early and never looking back. After a tough 8-5 loss by Hamid and Kyle at #2, almost finding their way back from a 2-7 deficit, we were tied 1-1 with our #3 doubles team still on court. Timo van der Geest and sophomore Peter Martin were on serve late in the pro-set, playing incredibly strong and imposing doubles as the match went the distance. Fighting off break points, stuffing poaches through the middle, both Peter and Timo played bold and aggressive. At 7-6, stringing four fantastic points together, Peter and Timo broke serve and put the Panthers up 2-1 going into singles.

In singles our boys looked strong and steady, each guy showing commitment in their match as we knew we had a lot of work ahead of us. With Bowdoin winning a very close 6-4, 6-4, match at #2 singles against Will the score was tied at 2-2. Senior Hamid Derbani came up with a huge straight-set (6-3, 6-2) victory at the #3 spot, and with yet another inspiring effort by Lubo at #1 singles (6-2, 2-6, 6-2), the Panthers were up 4-2 with three matches left. Timo lost a well fought match at #5, and with that it was up to Kyle and Allen at the #4 and #6 singles spots to determine the outcome of this day. Kyle solidified the victory with a 6-2, 6-2, score, keeping the Panthers undefeated D3 streak alive. You might be asking yourself how a match of this score could be one of last matches to finish on the day, with typical Kyle fashion the points were long, long, and longer. Kyle’s ability to stay in the point as long as necessary, matched with his determination to win every point, continue to show why he is such a tough opponent. Last was a brilliantly played third set by senior Allen Jackson to finalize the day with a 6-3 victory.

Meet the player: Peter Martin

Hometown: Orinda, CA

Year: Sophomore

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 170lb

Major: Economics

Favorite tennis player growing up and why: James Blake. I like him because he slapped forehands but was also pretty good at volleys, and he was an all-around good guy.

Favorite movie: Animal House

Favorite food: Tacos

Favorite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor: American Dream

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why: Amsterdam, because I really enjoy the Dutch people.

Why you chose Middlebury College: For its academics, tennis, and vibrant social scene.

Favorite Middlebury tennis moment thus far: Winning NESCACS

Peter is currently in his second season with us and is really starting to catch his stride. He has recently cracked our doubles lineup and is playing exceptionally well within our extremely challenging conference. It is always a joy to see players in this program make jumps and leaps, Peter is doing so with a extremely committed effort to not only his game but to this team as well.

Please keep updated with our weekend’s progress via twitter, facebook, and Instagram, and as always huge thanks for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Middlebury Men's Coaching Staff