ITA Regional and Skidmore Invitational Recap

Bam! What an awesome couple of weeks to report on! The Panthers built on our momentum from the Middlebury Invitational by diving into a week of training, followed by two back-to-back tournaments. We seemed to bring our best tennis when it mattered the most, demonstrated the full force and depth of our program, and enjoyed competing against some of the best competition in DIII! In doubles, all four of our teams won their first-round match, three of our doubles teams made the quarterfinals, two made the semis, and one earned the title! We also captured the singles title too! After ITA Regionals, we traveled to Skidmore and had a successful weekend of competition there as well. For the remainder of our fall season, we look forward to avoiding any complacency, and plan to continue to put in work week by week.

Took home some serious hardware at the ITA Regional!

Fall ITA New England Regional Highlights

• Continuing his winning ways, sophomore Julian Wu won 6 straight singles matches to earn the ITA New England Regional singles crown, including beating the #2 ranked player in the nation in the finals.

• Also winning 6 straight matches, the sophomore/freshmen pair of Hugh Hentschel and Thehan Wijemanne captured the ITA New England Regional doubles crown with a 6-2 third set triumph. 

• Our doubles performances were strong across the board, with Epstein/Lewis making a strong run to the quarterfinals and Wu/Mairs making a deep run to the semifinals where they bowed out to teammates Hentschel/Wijemanne.

Solid fist pump from Noah Lewis!

• In singles, we had many solid wins and good performances including an inspired run to the Round of 16 by senior captain Joe Mairs.

Nathan Jackson looking strong!

• With their tournament wins, Julian, Hugh, and Thehan will travel to Rome, GA to compete for a chance at an individual national title! 

• See a full recap of results by clicking here.

Skidmore Invitational Highlights

Love this squad!

• Nikky Kondamuri and Thehan Wijemanne highlighted singles play by making runs to the semifinals of their brackets. 

• In doubles, Nathan Jackson and Max Kim went undefeated in the back draw after being ousted in the first round.

Nikky and Max putting in work!

• Similarly, Joe Mairs and Julian Wu also knocked out strong competition in their back draw doubles matches after being defeated in their first round match.

• Neel Epstein also earned some excellent wins for the Panthers including beating a strong singles opponent and doubles team (with partner Noah Lewis) from Tufts in both of his first round matches.

• See a full recap of results by clicking here.

Upcoming Fall Schedule

Julian, Hugh, and Thehan have all earned All-American status, and will travel to Rome, GA to continue their runs at ITAs and will be competing for a chance at individual national titles.

Date             Time         Event         Location

10/12-16    All Day         ITA Cup         Rome, GA

Go Midd!

Middlebury Invite 2023 Recap

What a way to kick things off! The Middlebury Invite featured six other competitive DIII programs, and the Panthers really came to play. Across the six total flights (4 singles draws and 2 doubles draws), and we had Panthers make a run to the finals in 4 of 6 flights. Additionally indicating our impressive depth was that all nine of our competitors in this event posted a win! We knocked out both the #1 and #2 seed in the A Flight Doubles draw, knocked out the #1 seed in the B Flight singles draw, and won the singles A Flight! Pretty solid showing all around, but certainly still a lot to learn and grow from. Not how we start the year that means the most, but now we have increased clarity and determination to dial in our collective games to keep rising.

Joy always a key theme in our program!

Middlebury Invitational 2023 Highlights

• Julian Wu played eight matches across two days, winning the A Flight Singles Draw and making a run to the finals of the B Flight Doubles Draw partnering with Noah Lewis.

• Noah Lewis and Nathan Jackson both made deep runs in the B Flight Singles, with Noah making it to the semis and Nathan making it to the finals after dispatching the #1-seed in his semifinal win.

• Freshmen Thehan Wijemanne and Nikky Kondamuri both achieved some excellent doubles wins in the back draw brackets pairing with Neel Epstein and Nathan Jackson respectively.

• Joe Mairs made a wonderful run to the C Flight Singles final and took out the top-seeded doubles team in the A Flight pairing with Hugh Hentschel.

Joe Mairs and Hugh Hentschel talking strategy on a changeover!

• Neel Epstein paired with freshmen Thehan Wijemanne to knock out the #2 seeded doubles team in the A flight. 

• Max Kim, Hugh Hentschel, and Neel Epstein also each posted solid singles win in their respective flights.

Thehan gearing up to serve with partner Neel Epstein at the net.

Fun Fact

We have been giving out the same trophies at the Midd Invite for over two decades!

Julian Wu with his trophy picture after conquering the A Singles Flight.

Upcoming Fall Schedule

Date           Time        Event                          Location

9/29-10/1   All Day    ITA Regionals                Brunswick, ME

10/7-8        All Day    Skidmore Invitational    Saratoga Springs, NY

Go Midd!

Fall Season 2023: Panthers Arriving Back to Campus!

Let’s go! Exciting times as the US Open is entering the back half of the tournament and our Panthers are returning to campus to begin the new school year. Excited for a great fall season as we begin our new journey! This summer, our team put in an incredible amount of work and not only pursued their respective career paths taking on internships and other jobs, they continued to build their tennis games and competed in many tournaments across the country and even internationally.

These two captains, Robby and Andrew, will be rejoining us in the Spring. 

Our returning players arrive back on September 5th, except for three players who will return in the spring including Andrew Mueller, Robby Ward, and Aidan Harris. We will miss the presence of these three, but we know they will be hard at work as well and will demonstrate leadership from afar until rejoin us!  

The Panther roster for the 2023-2024 season is comprised of a balanced 7 upperclassmen, 3 sophomore, and 3 freshmen. Coach Andrew Thomson enters his 7th season at Middlebury as a coach and Tristan Kaye enters his 2nd season at Middlebury. We cannot wait to get started and have felt a strong sense of motivation in this group to aim toward the top of the mountain after coming so close during our last NCAA run! We look forward to posting more frequent updates on our blog throughout this season as we get back to competition as team. 

2023-24 Team Roster

• Upperclassmen (spring only): Andrew Mueller, Aidan Harris, Robby Ward
• Upperclassmen (fall and spring): Neel Epstein, Max Kim, Noah Laber, Joe Mairs 
• Sophomores: Hugh Hentschel, Nathan Jackson, Julian Wu
• Freshmen: Nikky Kondamuri, Noah Lewis, Thehan Wijemanne
• Coaching Staff: Andrew Thomson and Tristan Kaye

New Panthers

Our newest Panthers (from left to right): Thehan, Nikky, and Noah!

One of the most fun parts of kicking off a new year is getting to know our newest team members and integrating them into our cohesive and supportive group. We have again set our sights high and want to go after some special goals this year, and one thing is certainly clear, it will take a lot of hard work and enjoying the process each step of the way if we want to give ourselves the best possible chance to success.

Our fall tournament schedule is listed below and includes hosting one event and traveling to two others. We will take on some great competition!

2023 Fall Schedule 

Date     Time         School                             Location

9/16-17     All Day Middlebury Invitational     Middlebury, VT

9/29-10/1    All Day ITA Regionals                     Brunswick, ME

10/7-8     All Day Skidmore Invitational     Saratogoa Spring, NY

Some new touchups on the Proctor courts having them look very fresh!

Fun Fact

Our Panther men have continued to crush it in the classroom, with 100% of our roster earning ITA Academic All-American status last year! That’s the way!

Go Midd!

The Middlebury Men’s Tennis Coaching Staff

Recap of 2023 NCAAs Final Four Journey

Another year in the books and what a journey it was! The coaches are grateful for the dedication, passion, and beautiful tennis from our players throughout the year. Perhaps most rewarding was seeing how much our collective tennis rose throughout the season, allowing us to be playing as well as any team in the nation when it mattered most! We earned an incredibly hard fought 2023 NESCAC Conference Title and played well enough to position ourselves one point away from earning a trip to the NCAA national title match, ending with a NCAA Final Four run (Middlebury’s 8th consecutive trip to the Final Four) that was something to be incredibly proud about. One of the most beautiful parts about sports is that results are not guaranteed, but even in these cases, our team knows deep down that we played with heart and put our fighting spirit on full display. Knowing this in our core allows our coaching staff to feel incredible about what we accomplished this year, and to feel even more excited about our future ahead as a program. We want to pause for a moment as well to thank Zihao for being an incredible teammate and friend, someone who inspires us all to do better and work harder by his example. We wish him the very best in his post-Middlebury life! Thank you for everything Z! And without further ado, here is a brief recap of our 2023 NCAA run.

Beautiful camaraderie of the 2023 squad!

Thanks for an amazing Midd Tennis career Z!

NCAA Rd of 32: Christopher Newport (Midd won 5-1)

Our first stop was to play Christopher Newport on the road in Baltimore, MD. Knowing that we needed to come our prepared, the match was fun from start to finish as Christopher Newport played hard and required us to bring our best tennis. Behind wins from #2 doubles (Ward/Epstein) and #3 doubles (Wu/Mairs), followed by straight set wins at #1 singles (Laber), #3 singles (Epstein) and #4 singles (Wu) the Panthers took care of business and built on the confidence we earned at NESCACs moving us into the next round! Full box score can be seen here. 

Noah serving it up!

NCAA Rd of 16: Johns Hopkins (Midd won 5-2)

In a rematch from a spring break trip match in CA that we won 5-4, and now playing in Johns Hopkins backyard in Baltimore, MD… the Panthers were more than aware we would be walking into a battle of a matchup! As is typical in college matches, doubles were going to be key especially because Hopkins was particularly strong on the doubles side of the ball. With a loud crowd and fun atmosphere, Hopkins came out strong early and was up a break on all three doubles positions early. Demonstrating incredible resilience and fight, the Panthers dug in, found a way to increase our level and assertiveness, and were able to turn both #1 doubles (Laber/Harris) and #3 doubles (Wu/Mairs) in our favor earning two come from behind tiebreak wins and giving us big time momentum heading into singles. Without any hesitancy, the Panthers singles lineup went to work and found a way to post a solid 5-2 win behind key straight set victories from #3-5 singles (Epstein, Wu, and Ward respectively) with #1 singles (Laber) and #6 singles (Yuan) both in great position in their matches when they were stopped. Most importantly, this critical win earned us the right to fly to Orlando, FL for the Elite Eight! Full box score can be seen here. 

Robby Ward with the volley!

NCAA Quarterfinal: Bowdoin (Midd won 5-4)

Playing for the third time this season and having most recently come away with a 5-4 win over Bowdoin about two weeks prior, we knew the Polar Bears would be gearing up to come after us, but we were excited to take on yet another challenge. In a season where our team had demonstrated the ability to strike from all nine positions, we knew that if we played bravely in the big moments and trusted ourselves and our teammates, we would position ourselves well. In doubles, we did not execute as strongly as we had hoped but did earn a critical point at #2 doubles (Epstein/Ward) via a decisive 8-3 score. Recognizing that going into singles with a deficit was going to be a fight, the Panthers did an amazing job of believing in themselves and playing with joy and heart. Earning straight set wins at #4-6 singles (Wu, Ward, and Yuan respectively), it all came down to #3 singles. After dropping the first set to an opponent he had lost to in the two previous meetings, Neel Epstein rose to the challenge and posted a come-from behind three set win utilizing two massive forehand return winners in the final game to send the Panthers to the Final Four! We knew we did not play perfectly at all nine spots, but stuck together to earn another gutsy win! Full box score can be seen here.

Juju pumped up!

Neel tracking down a backhand!

NCAA Final Four: Case Western (Midd lost 5-4)

Coming in as an underdog, other teams might not have expected us to put on the display of tennis we did as we pushed the eventual champions to the bring of defeat. We believe before the match started that we were capable of beating anyone and proved that we could rise to the occasion in the biggest moment. The joy, passion, and heart we played with this day will continue to inspire our program into the future even though the result did not fall our way. Kicking things off for the Panthers was incredible doubles play. Even though we dropped the proset at #1 doubles, we used spectacular play at #3 doubles (Wu/Mairs) who played one of their most complete matches of the year earning an 8-4 win to even the team score at 1-1. With all eyes on them, #2 doubles (Epstein/Ward) played some big boy tennis really going after their shots and winning points with their offensive play, putting the Panthers ahead 2-1 behind a tiebreak win! Given our strong track record of singles play all year long, it was game on! As singles got underway, the Panthers continued to come out firing. Unfortunately, we were hit with some really tough adversity in this match with our top singles spot (#1 Laber) limping his way to the finish line after sustaining a brutal knee injury. Neel Epstein (#3 singles) played one of his most electric matches of the year building on his clinch the day before and won his match 6-0, 6-1. Robby Ward (#5 singles) then put the Panthers within a single match of the finals earning a hard fought 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win! Julian Wu (#4 singles) put on an amazing display of tennis in his second set battling to the bitter end and came up just shy of pushing his match to a third set. Things eventually all came down to #2 singles (Aidan Harris). Playing some of the most brave tennis, battling through cramps in 90-degree and high humid FL weather (both players started cramping at different points in the third set), we ended up coming out on the short end of the stick in a 7-6 in the third match. Having our captain Aidan Harris battling for the boys from start to finish in the last match was a great moment, and the sting of defeat will only serve to build our fortitude about how we approach our off-season and next year. We played with no regrets in the big moments at NCAAs, and will use everything we learned along the way to come back even stronger next year! Full box score can be seen here.

Great photo of Neel and Robby!

Another one!

Aidan bringing the fire!

Thank You

It is difficult to put into words how many people helped us achieve everything we accomplished this year and to create such a wonderful student-athlete experience in our program. From the Panther parents who support our boys from near and far, to our Midd Athletic Training staff especially Dave and Trevor, our Athletic Director Erin Quinn, special guest Midd Field Hockey Coach Katharine DeLorenzo who spoke to our team about how to approach our postseason run, our Midd Athletic Communications team of Ali, Dain, and Cal, our Panther Tennis Alumni, and everyone else in our Middlebury Tennis Family. The players and coached were filled up to the top with all the support and love that you sent our way, and it is HUGELY APPRECIATED!

Go Midd!

- Middlebury Tennis Coaching Staff

NESCAC 2023 Champs! NCAAs Up Next

The coaches are thrilled to be able to report that the Panthers enjoyed a sweet NESCAC tournament title run! It marks the third year in a row our Panther program has won the NESCAC conference tournament! Thank you to so many friends and family members of Middlebury Tennis who have done so much to support our journey this year. Moreover, it was a true pleasure to feel the satisfaction in seeing the joy of our players throughout the event as they earned hard fought victories that were well deserved based on their incredible dedication, hard work, and embracing of our team culture and path. More than wins and losses, the fun of striving together toward common goals and digging deeply into how we can improve ourselves as a team keeps us on our journey this year heading into NCAA tournament play. Here is a quick recap of NESCACs, along with a few fun photos!

Celebrating Victory!

Colby College (Midd won 5-0)

We hosted Colby at home on the Proctor courts and we came out swinging! Colby is a rising team in our conference, and we played some nice stretches of strong tennis to sweep the doubles matches and apply a lot of pressure heading into singles play. Needing two more points, the Panthers went to work on all six courts. The first players to reach the finish line were Noah Laber (#1 singles) and Zihao Yuan (# 6 singles) to secure the match and earn us the opportunity to travel to Williams for the next two rounds of the tournament. Click here to see the full box score. 

Amped UP!

Tufts University (Midd won 5-2)

Tufts was riding a 20-match win streak heading into our semifinal matchup, but we took confidence in that we had been improving and sharpening our skills since our last matchup earlier in the season. We knew that doubles play would be key to set the tone. Taking out the top-ranked doubles pair in the region, Harris/Laber (#1 doubles) put on an impressive display earning a 8-3 victory and giving us an early 1-0 lead. The next two doubles positions both came down to the wire, with Tufts earning a tiebreak victory at #2 doubles and our Midd # 3 doubles (Wu/Mairs) earning a key win to give the Panthers the 2-1 edge heading into singles play. We used that momentum and got after it in our singles play! Again demonstrating our depth at all parts of the lineup, the next two wins for the Panthers came at #1 singles (Laber) and #6 singles (Yuan) both winning decisive straight set matches. Next up to push the Panthers across the finish line was captain Robby Ward (#5 singles) who earned a 3-set victory for the clinch! A great battle and strong way to finish to earn a spot in the finals! Click here to see the full box score. 

Joe Mairs/Julian Wu take the point at #3 doubles vs Tufts

Bowdoin College (Midd won 5-4)

Getting another chance to avenge a previous loss, we found ourselves behind early at all three doubles spots. Each guy dug deep and we fought back hard, with #1 doubles (Harris/Laber) finding a way to win an 8-7(5) tiebreak win secured by a special FH return winner to keep us in the fight! Using that momentum, we knew we would come out hungry on the singles court being down 1-2 after doubles play. Sure enough, four Panthers found their way to victory by battling and playing some of their best stretches of tennis at the biggest moments. Harris (#2 singles) earned a gritty straight set win. Next to win was Yuan (#6 singles) who bested his opponent across three grueling sets. Ward (#5 singles) then pushed the Panthers to one-point away from the title with a particularly impressive decisive victory. It all came down to the #1 singles position, where Noah Laber (#1 singles) put on a spectacular performance of high-level tennis to earn a 7-5, 6-4 win! His teammates stormed the court to celebrate and it was a thing of beauty to see joy and excitement our team felt to have earned such a special achievement together! Of course, the best part always being that it positions us even better for our next stop in our journey, the NCAA tournament! Click here to see the final box score. 

NCAA Tournament Play and Possible Schedule

After our NESCAC run, we look forward to our next opportunity to test ourselves and to face more challenges ahead. We continue to reflect on how we can keep growing as a team, keep learning, and to do all the necessary steps and work to position ourselves to make a run! We cannot wait!

Upcoming Match Schedule (check our schedule/results page for match times)

Picture of our NCAA Regional Rounds Draw

May 5: NCAA First Round Bye

May 6: NCAA Second Round vs winner of Christopher Newport/Allegheny (Baltimore, MD)

May 7: NCAA Third Round (Baltimore, MD)

If we win our NCAA Regional matches, we will move on to play the NCAA Final Rounds (May 13-16th) in Lake Nona, FL.

 

Go Midd!

- Middlebury Tennis Coaching Staff

The Panthers (12-3) End Regular Season Strong and Gear Up for Postseason Play

Since our last update, the Panthers have beaten three top-20 nationally ranked teams, including number #6 Williams College, lost one close battle, and continue to show that we are going to be a force to be reckoned with come post-season play. Beyond the wins and losses so far, the coaching staff feels our best tennis is still in front of us this year. Our group’s resilience and hard-working approach day in and day out is a special characteristic that will give us the best chance of being highly successful when it matters most at the end of the year!

Zihao Yuan preparing for a return

Williams College (Midd won 7-2)

Taking on a fun challenge on the road, we were able to put together one of our strongest performances of the year in an outdoor match at Williams. Our doubles kicked things off well with excellent performances at #2 doubles (Epstein/Ward won 8-3) and #3 doubles (Mairs/Wu won 8-5). Heading into singles with a 2-1 lead gave us some momentum and our guys played with impressive poise and confidence throughout. We earned hard fought straight set wins at #2 singles (Harris), #5 singles (Wu) and #6 singles (Yuan). At the top line, # 1 singles (Laber) continued his winning ways finding his way in an impressive 3-set win over one of the best opponents in the country. Wrapping things up with his teammates watching, # 4 singles (Ward) earned a nice come-from behind win in a third-set super tiebreaker. Check out the box score here.

Epstein, Mueller, and Ward

Colby College (Midd won 8-1)

It was exciting to take on Colby this year as they are one of the most improved teams in the country over the past couple seasons, so we knew we needed to be at our best level. Continuing to show that we can hit from any spot in our doubles lineup we earned a 2-1 lead behind solid wins from #1 doubles (Harris/Laber) and #2 doubles (Epstein/Ward). From there, we really took off and swept all six singles matches against solid Colby opponents. We were able to find straight set wins from #2 to # 6 singles (Harris, Epstein, Ward, Wu, and Yuan respectively). Demonstrating his ability to adapt and adjust mid-match, Laber earned another three-set win at the #1 singles slot. Check out the box score here.

Bowdoin College (Midd lost 4-5)

Always a good challenge to face, especially on the road, we looked forward to testing ourselves in a challenging away context environment. Continuing our development in doubles, we again came out strong posting a 2-1 lead behind two very hard-fought wins in closely contested matches at #2 (Epstein/Ward) and #3 doubles (Mairs/Wu). In singles, our opponents played well at many spots, and we had a day we did not play quite as sharp as we had wanted. We did earn strong wins at both #4 (Ward) and #5 singles (Wu). Our effort was excellent up and down the line, and we took many good learnings that we already cannot wait to build on. We know using the sting of a close loss to our advantage to fuel our motivational fire is the best next step! Check out the box score here.

Laber and Mairs fueling up post match!

Amherst College (Midd won 6-3)

It was a beautiful day on our home Proctor courts versus a very talented Amherst squad that had won multiple matches in a row. It was a beautiful day for outdoor tennis and presented a fun challenge of being a particularly windy and gusty day where we knew it would test our mental fortitude and composure. Doubles was a battle from start to finish. Our #1 doubles team (Harris/Laber) posted a very key 8-4 win before we lost a way of a tiebreak match at #3 doubles. Even though we were down 1-2 after doubles play, we still feel our doubles has been steadily rising and we are learning to strike from each spot. In singles play, the competition was also fierce, but the Panthers were hungry and battled well in windy conditions finding the win column in 5 of the 6 singles matches. At # 1 singles (Laber), #4 singles (Wu), and #5 singles (Ward) we put together solid straight set wins against talented competition. Building on the momentum #2 singles (Harris) and #6 singles (Yuan) used steady and hard-working play to take home strong three-set wins and punctuate a great team win for the Panther squad! Check out the box score here.

A few former Panthers (Vilys, Hilty, Guo) hanging
with current Panther (Kim) at our Amherst match.

Hamilton (Midd won 9-0)

Building on our momentum through the weekend, we came out with a head of steam in doubles earning a doubles and singles sweep with additional victories at exhibition matches for #4 doubles (Jackson/Hentschel), #7 singles (Mairs), and #8 singles (Kim). Across many solid wins during the day, one highlight was #1 singles (Harris) who earned a straight set victory over the #6-ranked player in our region. What a complete performance to use to launch us into our postseason play! Check out the box score here.

Alumni Weekend and Family Support

We want to take a moment to also highlight the incredible alumni support during our alumni weekend matches against Amherst/Hamilton. The atmosphere was electric and there is nothing more enjoyable than welcoming back home some of the players who shaped and molded our program into the incredible culture we are fortunate to have today. Moreover, we had another amazing showing of family and friends who have not only been cheering us on, but spoiling us with food, love, and support throughout our entire regular season. Thank you!

No better crew to hang with than these Panther tennis legends!

Midd Loves the Postseason

There is nothing the Panthers love more than earning opportunities to compete for something special at the end of the year. We have again positioned ourselves strongly and look forward to taking on the challenge of a making a deep postseason run. In the NESCAC tournament, there was a 3-way tie between Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Williams in the conference standings that will be broken using a coin-flip. The good news is that no matter which way the coin lands, we are going to be ready to rumble to take on some exciting competition with passion and poise!

Possible Postseason Schedule (check our schedule/results page for updates)

April 28-30: NESCAC Tournament (Co-Hosted by Middlebury and Williams Colleges) 

May 4-7: NCAA Regional Rounds (Host site is TBD)

May 13-16: NCAA Final (Lake Nona, FL)

Go Midd!

- Middlebury Tennis Coaching Staff

Panthers (8-2) On The Rise!

Since our last update, the Panthers continue to steadily rise of our level of performance. On the first match of our spring break trip, we lost a battle to a strong DII program in Point Loma, but then have won four straight DIII matches! Our players love the competitive atmosphere each of our matches provided and are thriving in the big moments. We have gradually improved our doubles play, which will be key to supplementing our consistent singles attack!

Big Midd!

Point Loma (Midd lost 2-5)

Our first outdoor match of the year against a very strong DII opponent, but we came to play! Point Loma took the doubles point, but then we responded with solid efforts across the board in singles play. Senior captain Robby Ward earned the first point for the Panthers with an impressive 6-1, 6-4 victory at #4 singles. Julian Wu posted the second of our two points at #5 singles completing a come from behind effort to win in a super tiebreaker! Check out the box score here.

Julian Wu lining up a backhand rip.

Pomona-Pitzer (Midd won 8-1)

Our next spring break match was against #18 nationally ranked Pomona-Pitzer. They have a very deep roster and are a talented team we knew would come out firing. Our group thrived in the away atmosphere of the match and competed well in the doubles through some back-and-forth momentum shifts. Harris/Laber (#1 doubles) put the first point on the board with an 8-4 win followed by Wu/Yuan (#3 doubles) who secured an 8-6 victory serving out a key moment in the match giving us a big momentum boost headed into singles play. The Panthers went an impressive 6-0 in our lineup singles matches (also 2-0 in singles exhibition play), which is a formidable showing against this level of opponent. Five of the six victories came in straight sets including Laber (#1 Singles), Harris (#2 singles), Ward (#4 singles), Wu (#5 singles), and Yuan (#6 singles). At #5 singles, Epstein won by way of retirement in the third set due to an opponent injury bring back some memories of a rematch where he bested this same opponent in three sets the year before on our spring break trip.  Check out the box score here.

Aidan Harris popping a serve vs Pomona

Azusa Pacific (match cancelled due to rainy weather)

We look froward to renewing our annual matchup with DII powerhouse Azusa pacific on our 2024 Spring Break trip.

Johns Hopkins (Midd won 5-4)

In our most electric match so far this year, we used stellar singles play to overcome #9 nationally-ranked Hopkins. Buoyed by a key doubles win by Ward/Epstein (#2 doubles), we were able to enter singles play down only a single point. Even though the doubles did not go as much our way as we hoped, we took confidence in our singles strength up and down our lineup. Indeed, we attacked them from all six spots and came away with four points to earn the win and one of our two singles losses only coming in a super tiebreak fashion after the match had been clinched. Laber (#1 singles) continued his winning ways taking out the #6 ranked player in DIII in straight sets. Epstein (#3 singles), Wu (#5 singles), and Yuan (#6 singles) also all shined earning straight set victories to secure the Middlebury triumph. Check out the box score here.

Wesleyan (Midd won 8-1)

In one of our most complete performances of the season to date, our squad came out hot from start to finish in this one. Wesleyan was ranked #16 nationally, but we came out poised and playing well and won all three doubles matches: Harris/Laber (#1 doubles 8-6), Epstein/Ward (#2 doubles 8-5), and Mairs/Wu (#3 doubles, 8-2). The gang kept things rolling in singles not dropping more than 3 games in a set at #1 singles (Laber), and #3 through #6 singles (Epstein, Ward, Wu, and Yuan). Great day to be a Panther! Check out the box score here.

Conn College (Midd won 9-0)

Not wanting to slow our moment, the Panthers demonstrated our impressive depth winning all 12 matches played (including exhibitions at #4 doubles and #7-8 singles). It was great to see some of our young players get a lineup NESCAC win including #4 singles (Nathan Jackson) and #5 singles (Hugh Hentschel) both earning decisive straight set results. Check out the box score here.

Coaching staff in full force!

Upcoming Schedule (Alumni Match Coming Up!)

Check out our remaining regular season schedule below. Alumni, please mark down April 22nd for our Alumni Match Day! Hope to see many of you there! 

Go Midd!

- Middlebury Tennis Coaching Staff

Panthers Off to A Solid Start Winning 4 of First 5 Matches

The Panthers absolutely loved being able to test ourselves against some great competition over the past two weekends. Nothing quite compares to being able to dig in and compete alongside your teammates in competitive college tennis dual matches! We also learned a lot about where we are and what we need to work on to keep rising through the year.

Panthers love batting together!

Trinity CT Highlights (Panthers won 9-0)

In this match, we came out firing from top to bottom. Our #1 doubles pair of Aidan Harris/Noah Laber earned a particularly impressive 8-1 win against strong serving opponents. At # 2 singles, Aidan did not drop a single game in his singles match. Our three freshmen also hit the ground running with Julian Wu, Nathan Jackson, and Hugh Hentschel all earning convincing victories at #5 singles, #6 singles, and #7 singles (we like to call this slot exhibition #1 or X1) respectively! See the full match results by clicking here.

Freshman Hugh Hentschel lining up a backhand

St. Michael’s Highlights (Panthers won 8-1)

Earning our second singles sweep on the same day, the Panthers continued to show that we entered the season fully ready to rumble. Our squad punctuated this match with excellent singles play from top to bottom, with all 11 of our Panthers seeing time in the lineup in either the morning or evening match. At #6 singles, Andrew Mueller put on a crowd-pleasing performance earning a victory despite having to serve underhand for a large portion of the match! What a boss! Our only loss of the day came in a super-tiebreaker, but still had Max Kim demonstrating an impressive comeback in the second set in front of an active crowd at the end of the match. See the full match results by clicking here.

Skidmore Highlights (Panthers won 8-1)

In our first away match coming immediately after a double header, the Panthers put on an impressive performance winning 8 of 9 matches versus an opponent ranked #30 in the latest ITA national poll. The Panthers went up 2-1 after doubles behind dominant performances by Neel Epstein/Robby Ward at #2 doubles and Julian Wu/Zihao Yuan at #3 doubles. In singles play, Julian Wu did not drop a single game winning 6-0, 6-0 at # 5 singles. Both Noah Laber and Robby Ward earned hard fought three-set victories, which was fun to see them battle from start to finishing and played some of their best stuff in the key moments! See the full match results by clicking here.

Senior captain Andrew Mueller in coach mode helping Robby Ward/Neel Epstein on court! 

Tufts Highlights (Panthers lost 3-6)

In a clash of opponents who finished last year ranked #3 and #4 in the ITA National Rankings, we knew it was going to be a great opportunity to see where our team was at. Playing on the road on their court surface, we knew we would need to compete well and to adapt throughout the match. Tufts played well immediately out of the game and got a lead across all three doubles courts. We dug in but were not able to shift the momentum quickly enough resulting in a 0-3 score line heading into singles play. Knowing it’s not how we start the match that is most important, the Panthers put on an incredibly impressive singles performance with our backs against the wall and gave ourselves a chance at making a full comeback. Julian Wu got thing rolling posting another dominant win at #5 singles. At #1 and #2 singles we earned three-set victories by Noah Laber and Aidan Harris (in a 3rd set super tiebreaker). Neel Epstein also positioning himself well at #3 singles losing a nail biter of a three set match and showed how well he can play for stretches. Zihao Yuan lost his match in a third set super tiebreaker and as always sets the example for our team of consistent effort and focus even though the result did not break his way. While winning is always more fun, we look forward to using this match as a spark to shore up a few areas we need to improve so that we can be ready for next time against top competition. See the full match results by clicking here.

Noah Laber getting ready to spike a volley with Aidan Harris ready to pounce if needed!

Bates Highlights (Panthers won 7-2)

Showing our fortitude, the Panthers bounced back immediately after a tough loss the previous day with an impressive 7-2 showing versus a tricky Bates teams on their indoor courts. In doubles play, we earned solid wins at #1 doubles (Aidan Harris/Noah Laber) and #2 doubles (Neel Epstein/Robby Ward) both coming from down a break before securing the win. In singles play, the bookends of our lineup got things rolling out of the game with Noah Laber (#1 singles) and Zihao Yuan (#6 singles) posting straight set victories. Demonstrating some impressive comebacks within a set, both Neel Epstein (#3 singles) and Julian Wu (#5 singles) showed that we are never out of the fight and each secured hard fought victories at their positions. Aidan Harris lost a well-contested three set match at #2 singles, while Robby Ward finished the day with a super-tiebreaker three set win with the whole team cheering him on! Also, shout out to Hugh Hentschel and Joe Mairs for sweeping the X1 doubles and X1 and X2 singles positions. The Panthers love every opportunity to play and great to get bonus matches in! See the full match results by clicking here.

Neel Esptein ready to pummel a backhand!

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- Middlebury Tennis Coaching Staff