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| Congrats to our newest Doubles All-Americans Aidan Harris and Noah Laber! |
Middlebury Invite 2021 Highlights
The 2021 Middlebury Invitational was the perfect way for our program to kick off our fall season and get our players into competition mode. Overall, we saw some great stretches of tennis up and down the board from our group and got important feedback that only a competitive atmosphere can provide as to the areas where each of our players can continue to grow and explore their potential. Our deepest runs across the six flights came as finalists in the A and B doubles flights and semifinalists in the A and B singles flights.
The 2021 Middlebury Invitational was the perfect way for our program to kick off our fall season and get our players into competition mode. Overall, we saw some great stretches of tennis up and down the board from our group and got important feedback that only a competitive atmosphere can provide as to the areas where each of our players can continue to grow and explore their potential. Our deepest runs across the six flights came as finalists in the A and B doubles flights and semifinalists in the A and B singles flights.
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| The Panthers looking good and always hanging together and supporting while competing at our annual Midd Invite. |
On the doubles side of the ball, Stan Morris and Robby Ward paired well and won three matches against great competition to make the finals of the A flight doubles before falling to one of the top ranked doubles team in the nation in a hard-fought final match. Similarly, Neel Epstein and Zach Hilty showed great energy and fight making a nice run to the finals of the B flight doubles. Aidan Harris and Noah Laber picked up a win in the A flight doubles as well. In singles play, the Panthers picked up six more wins including semifinal runs by Noah Laber (A flight) and Zihao Yuan (B flight). Stan and Joe also picked up wins in their respective flights before falling to the eventual champions in their draws.
It was particularly enjoyable to see our Panthers back in action and to see the hunger of our young group as we completed our first fall event. Full tournament results can be found by clicking here.
ITA Regional 2021 Highlights
What a tournament for the Panthers against the strongest players in the New England Region! Everyone who was able to compete (4 singles players and 4 doubles teams) displayed some great tennis and the depth and strength of our team was on display in both the singles and doubles draws. Next, we provide a quick summary of our best doubles and singles results.
David Vilys/Joe Mairs
David and Joe took the tournament by storm earning an 8-7(4) first round win over a talented MIT team before then pushing the top-seeded doubles team to a 7-8(13) loss. The positive energy and big serve and volley momentum they displayed gave them multiple match points (also saved multiple match points down themselves). Their fire and enthusiasm helped inspire their teammates to keep pushing throughout the event.
Neel Epstein/Zach Hilty
Neel and Zach kicked things off with a resounding 8-1 win over Western New England. Building on their success from the Middlebury Invite, they played some special tennis earning an 8-7(6) victory over another talented and 9th seeded MIT team. Zach’s topspin lobs and spike volleys under pressure as well as Neel’s clutch serving and constant pressure at the net pushed them over the top in a great come from behind win (they were down 7-4). Their run was then cut short by the eventual doubles finalists in the following round.
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| Photo taken on changeover at the Midd Invite. Bobby H coaching up the Hilty/Epstein doubles combo! |
Robby Ward
As Robby has only recently been getting back to full strength, his tennis took full flight over the weekend as his competitive spirt and fierce determination took over. Robby began the event with a decisive victory over an opponent from Colby-Sawyer. Next, he faced off against the top seed in the draw. Highlighted by Robby’s fearless play, both coaches and all his teammates watched our team’s last match of the day as Robby put on an incredible performance. He won 6-4 in the third set over Noah Lilienthal from Wesleyan with his big serving, attacking groundstrokes, and big finishes at the net. The next day, Robby was not done just yet as he earned another impressive straight set victory over a very strong player from Brandeis before falling in the quarterfinals. We know as Robby continues to regain full health, he will be even more dangerous moving forward. Great work Robby!
Stan Morris
Stan followed up his incredible run at this event last year, by again earning himself a trip the finals! Stan kicked things off beating two tough opponents in straight sets from Babson and Bowdoin respectively. There were no easy draws in this tournament and Stan came ready with great focus and competitiveness to hit the ground running. On Saturday, Stan earned two more straight set victories over seeded opponents, first from Bates and then from Amherst. In both matches, Stan used his experience and knowledge of his own game to help him come out ahead against two other strong players. In the semifinals on Sunday, Stan began to play some of his best tennis in the biggest moments winning 6-4, 6-4 against an opponent from Bowdoin including playing a rock-solid game to break serve to close out the match. Although Stan lost the final to a Williams player who was on a tear, he also earned himself his second consecutive trip to Rome, GA where we already cannot wait to see him play against the other finalists/champions form the other regions across the country! To make things even more fun, we next will share that one of our doubles teams will also be joining Stan in Rome, GA! Congrats on a great run for Stan!
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| Stan getting ready to serve in his quarterfinal match. |
Aidan Harris/Noah Laber
These two won a combined three singles matched including each posting a come from behind win in three sets after dropping a first set. That being said, the major highlight for Aidan and Noah was WINNING THE WHOLE THING in the doubles event. They had no easy matches across their five victories throughout the tournament and it was a true pleasure for the coaching staff to watch their games and doubles acumen grow and thrive more and more as they made their way through the draw. They kicked things off with an 8-4 win against Amherst on Friday. On Saturday, they first navigated an incredible 14-12 tiebreak win in a hard-fought match against Colby including saving multiple match points down. From there, these two did not look back. They then beat a team from Tufts they had lost to just a week earlier at the Midd Invite 8-6 demonstrating some impressive serving and volley work at the net. On Sunday, they played a sizzling level of tennis taking out the top-seeded team from Brandeis 8-5 putting on one of their best performances of the tournament. Then in the finals, they kept their momentum rolling against a very talented and battle tested Williams team earning a 6-2, 7-6(6) win. Noah play included incredible shot making from all areas of the court included defensive lobs, sick angles, steady returns, and big moves at the net. Aidan demonstrated rock solid serving, nasty first volleys and pickups, steady returns, as well as some extra special closes at the net when it mattered most. Even more fun, these two also earned a trip to Rome, GA to play the ITA Oracle Cup national event to compete against the winners/finalists of the other regions across the country. And if that were not enough, winning the whole thing cements these two as first time All-American doubles players! Well done Aidan and Noah and let’s keep the fun (and hard work) rolling!
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| Harris and Laber strategizing on the changeover! |
Upcoming Tournament Schedule
10/2-3: Panther Classic
- The Panther Classic begins this Saturday at home in Middlebury, VT! The tournament will feature two division one opponents (Colgate and Bryant), and we will play 3 singles and 3 doubles matches for each player across Saturday and Sunday.
10/14-16: ITA Oracle Cup
10/16-17: Wesleyan Invitation in Middletown, CT
Very best wishes,
The Middlebury Men’s Tennis Coaching Staff
