Panthers Wrap Up Fall 2021 Competition In A Big Way

It was a busy October for Middlebury Men’s Tennis, and our young and hungry group demonstrated some of their best tennis of the fall season! We want to take a moment to give a shout out to our senior captains, who have established a great tone for our program this season as we look to take advantage of every competitive opportunity to improve our skills and sharpen our competitive edges. Zach Hilty, Stan Morris, and David Vilys have each stepped up to help guide our group toward a path that will allow our players to really explore how fast and far we can push our tennis level as group. With the hunger and tenacity of the younger classes behind, them our group will be ready for when the coaching staff must take a step back during the winter season. However, before then, we have guest coach Morgan Shepherd in the house who will work with each of our players on an individual level and help us to establish clarity for individual developmental plans during the winter.

Stan Morris competing in Rome, GA on his way to winning an individual ITA National Title!!!

Panther Classic

In this year’s Panther Classic, we hosted two Division I programs in Bryant and Colgate in Middlebury. We knew the level of play would be high and our group came out ready to rumble. Over the two-day event, the Panthers went 13-0 in doubles matches and 17-8 in singles play! Among many notable results, freshman Neel Epstein, sophomore Noah Laber, and all three seniors Zach Hilty, Stan Morris, and David Vilys went undefeated in both singles and doubles play! On Sunday in the final match of the tournament, sophomore Max Kim won a thriller after splitting the first two sets and capturing the super tiebreaker with teammates cheering full force from the sidelines! A full recap of results can be found here. 

Seniors Zach Hilty and David Vilys paired well and helped
the Panthers go 13-0 in doubles at the Panther Classic!

ITA Oracle Cup

In Rome, GA, we had one singles player and one doubles team competing in a draw consisting of 16 of the top DIII players/doubles teams in the nation who won or made it to the finals of their respective regional ITA tournaments. There are no easy matches at such an event as all players have already proven their level just to get to play at this event. Despite stiff competition, the Panthers brought their game in full force going a combined 6-1 during the event.

The tournament photographer did not spend enough time on Midd's courts,
but did capture this sweet swing of an Aidan Harris backhand return!

In doubles, Aidan Harris and Noah Laber won 2 of 3 matches. They won a super tiebreaker in the first round over a team that had won the West ITA Regional and found their best tennis when it mattered most. In the next round, we feel in the quarterfinal match but then bounced back to secure a straight sets victory in a compass draw format ending the tournament with yet another win! Aidan and Noah have already qualified as doubles All-Americans and will be a force to be reckoned with come springtime. 

In singles, Stan brought his game to Rome in full force putting together an incredibly impressive run winning the whole darn thing! On day 1 of the event, Stan won his first match in straight sets but then found himself down a set, 1-3, love-40 in his next match. Finding a way to dig deep and fight through a tough stretch on a hot and humid day, Stan fought his way back 7-5 in the third set battling through leg cramps and his hand cramping up as well. It was a gutsy performance where Stan demonstrated his desire to win and how badly he wanted to continue his run. 

We are lucky coaches getting work with each of our Panther Beasts on court!

After doing everything to rehydrate his body, Stan was able to re-up his level and found himself winning in straight sets in the semifinals to set up a rematch in the final against the player he lost to during the ITA regional event. This time, Stan came out victorious again coming from behind winning the title match 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. Stan again found his best tennis during the biggest moments and played some courageous tennis throughout the final to best his run to the finals in 2019. Stan is only the second player in Middlebury Men’s Tennis history to achieve this result and we will be adding his name to the list of individual national champions on our banner in Nelson Arena! Way to go Stan! Full results for both singles and doubles can be found here.

Stan was all smiles after winning the whole thing!

Wesleyan Invitational

With three of our players in GA, the rest of the Panther squad traveled to Connecticut to compete in the Wesleyan Invitational. Across two days, we got in a ton of singles and doubles match play against great competition, and we continued to impress. Highlights included semifinal runs for Joe Maris in singles, as well as semifinal runs for Joe Mairs/Robby Ward and Neel Epstein/Zach Hilty in doubles! Demonstrating our depth, every Panther who participated got at least a win in either singles or doubles. Full results for the event can be found here.

The group was treated to an outdoor team dinner by the parents who attended the
event - nothing more fun than spending time together as a team!

As always, thanks for all the love and support from you and the rest of our Middlebury Tennis Family. Looking forward to seeing and hearing from many of you soon!

Go Midd!

Coach Thomson and Coach Hansen