J-Term 2021 Update and Freshmen Spotlights

Panther tennis fans! Looking forward to sharing another update about our program as we continue to navigate an uncertain and unprecedented path for this academic year. Middlebury is fully remote for J-term this year and classes begin this week! The coaching staff will be teaching our PE classes over zoom, so instead of focusing on tennis or pickleball, we have elected to provide a class that shares some of the mental skills work we do with our team to promote performance (and hopefully supports well-being beyond the court too) with all students. In this post, we will highlight our freshmen class so you can get to know our youngest group better and will wrap up by providing an update on the upcoming spring semester.

Freshmen Spotlights: Get to Know the Class of 2024
We have loved getting to know our freshmen class and they are already well integrated into the team and making a big impact on all levels of what we do. That being said, there is always more to learn about our group and who would have thought that 3 out of 4 of them would pick sushi as their favorite food! We cannot wait to watch this group continue to grow and thrive!

Max Kim

Hometown: Hillsborough, NJ

Siblings: Nicole Kim (older sister)

Favorite food: Sushi

Favorite hobby outside of tennis: Trying new foods

Pets: Beanie (toy goldendoodle)

Favorite pro tennis player: Daniil Medvedev

Best part about being in Vermont: Being surrounded by nature

Favorite thing about Middlebury College so far: Making new friends

Noah Laber

Hometown: Ventura, California

Siblings: 5 (Benjamin, Caroline, Kaikoura, Jackson, Micah)

Favorite Food: Sushi

Favorite Hobby Outside of Tennis: Ping Pong

Pets: Dogs (Oliver, Nala) Cats (Violet, Coco)

Favorite Pro Tennis Player: Rafael Nadal

Best Part About Being in Vermont: Different weather (Snow)

Favorite Thing About Middlebury College So Far: Friends on the Tennis Team

Joe Mairs

Hometown: Edina, Minnesota

Siblings: Younger brother (sophomore in high school)

Favorite Food: Sushi

Favorite Hobby Outside of Tennis: Guitar

Pets: 2 dogs (bernese mountain dogs) and 2 cats (norwegian forest cats)

Favorite Pro Tennis Player: Roger Federer

Best Part About Being in Vermont: All the different seasons

Favorite Thing About Middlebury College So Far: The people at Middlebury are very welcoming and supportive.

Zihao Yuan

Hometown: Guangzhou, China

Siblings: Older brother Jeff in Australia

Favorite Food: Steak

Favorite Hobby Outside of Tennis: Reading

Pets: Dudu (Chow Chow)

Favorite Pro Tennis Player: Roger Federer

Best Part About Being in Vermont: The weather is cool during the summer.

Favorite Thing About Middlebury College So Far: I can explore many possibilities.

Spring Semester Outlook

Middlebury has yet to announce a formal decision about spring athletics, but we are anticipating that there is a high likelihood that we will not be back to competition as usual just yet. No part of missing competitive seasons is easy, but we remain thankful for the opportunities we still do have to work together as a team. We are sure cheering for the vaccine distribution process to speed up though! Given the current outlook, our group has been busy working on backup plans and adapting to the circumstances as well as possible. One option that the majority of our team may choose is to study remotely (or take a gap semester) and live together somewhere warm where they will be able to train as a team and play tournaments if conditions allow. While it would be strange not to have our whole team back on campus as we had in the fall, we are pleased that our players want to find opportunities to compete again to continue their development and test the skills we have been building. More importantly, as a coaching staff we loved seeing how our group worked together and prioritized options that allowed them to be with their teammates. As always, we know our team will stay committed to doing what it takes to keeping their tennis on an upward trajectory!

Very best wishes, 

The Middlebury Men’s Tennis Coaching Staff