Panthers Go 4-0 Against DIII Opponents in SoCal

It has been three years since our last Spring Break in Southern California, and it was a joy to be back competing against some of the best competition that DIII has to offer! The Panthers played some great tennis, continue to build our confidence about the team we can become, and made sure to soak in the special moments that happen when traveling together as a team. The coaching staff is incredibly proud of the effort and grittiness of our team so far this year and look forward to building and rising from here.

Doubles pair Neel Epstein and Zach Hilty always play with fire and passion!

Occidental Highlights (Midd wins 8-1)

We kicked off the competition by facing Occidental (ITA National Ranking #39). This was a stiff test for the Panthers as we got our feet on the ground in SoCal and were adjusting to outdoor tennis on the fly. Despite the well-coached and competitive opponents, the Panthers rose to the challenge across the board. We swept all three doubles and won four straight set singles matches (Morris at #1 singles, Harris at #2 singles, Epstein at #5 singles, and Yuan at #6 singles). In a great way to finish the match, Noah Laber won a hard fought three set match at #3 singles in his first college dual match with the whole group cheering him on! We also won three exhibition matches at #4 doubles (Yuan/Mairs) and #7 (Joe Mairs) and #8 (David Vilys) singles. Full match details can be found here.

Pacific Highlights (Midd wins 6-3)

In our next matchup, we competed against Pacific University (ITA National Ranking #37) hosted in Claremont, CA. They came at us from the start and made for a battle from start to finish. The Panthers won smoothly 8-2 at #3 doubles before dropping hard fought points at both #1 and #2 doubles. Never easy heading into singles play down 2-1, but our team stayed united and confident in our ability to bounce back in singles. Almost immediately evening the match score at 2-2, Zihao Yuan posted a decisive 6-0, 6-0 victory. Building on that momentum, the Panthers captured straight set victories at #2 (Aidan Harris), #3 (Noah Laber), and #5 (Zach Hilty) to secure a match victory. Neel Epstein also completed a comeback at the #4 singles spot winning 6-1 and 6-1 in the final two sets. This match allowed us to reflect on what we can do better as a group and helped to ready us for the next challenges we were to face on the trip. We also won three exhibition matches at #4 doubles (Yuan/Mairs) and #7 (Joe Mairs) and #8 (David Vilys) singles. Full match details can be found here.

Celebratory hug!

Azusa Pacific Highlights (Midd drops match 0-4)

Increasing our readiness for outdoor tennis against tough competition, the Panthers were looking forward to taking on one of the best DII teams in the country in Azusa Pacific. Although we lost a 4-0 decision, we were either up or in a third set in the last three matches that were not to be finished. We also won two exhibition matches at #7-8 singles via Joe Mairs and David Vilys. Credit to Azusa for taking it to us this day and helping us to stay humble and hungry. We felt we did not play our best tennis and this match served to sharpen our motivation for the next two DIII matches ahead. Full match details can be found here.

Pomona-Pitzer Highlights (Midd Wins 6-3)

As we moved through the trip, the Panthers were ramping up to face the ITA #10 Nationally Ranked Pomona-Pitzer on their home courts. We knew Pomona was a talented and dangerous squad and that we would need to bring our best effort on their home courts. In doubles play, we got off to a slow start going down a break at all three doubles positions. When things were looking bleak, the Panthers kept fighting hard in all three spots and our perseverance paid off with #1 doubles completing an impressive comeback from 4-7 down to capture an 8-7 (5) victory. This gave our team some momentum heading into singles even though we were again facing a 2-1 deficit after doubles play. Reminding each other that we believe in each and every spot throughout our lineup, the Panthers came out determined to mount another singles comeback. We ended up winning five of six incredibly hard fought singles matches. At the top spot, Stan Morris demonstrated his ability to play at an elite level winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. At number #6 singles, Zihao Yuan won in two tightly contested sets 7-5, 6-4 competing with poise and conviction. With the overall match score now tied at 3-3, the Panthers dug deep and played some clutch tennis. At #5 singles, Zach Hilty mounted an impressive come from behind win after being down 2-5 in the third set securing a 7-6 in the third victory to put the Panthers just one point away from victory. Cool and calm as could be, Noah Laber clinched the victory for the team winning his match 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. Then in the final match of the day that lasted almost four hours, Neel Epstein won a thriller in front of a packed crowd of players, families, and fans by a score of 7-5, 6-7(10), 7-6(8) including completing a rarely seen feat of saving six straight match points after being down 0-6 in the third set tiebreaker. Neel played with incredible heart and thrived on the big stage! Full match details can be found here.

CMS (Midd Wins 5-4)

When it seemed things could not get much more exciting, the Panthers put an exclamation point on our Spring Break trip by earning a 5-4 victory over CMS (ITA National Ranking #3). The match started with CMS earning the first point at #2 doubles, and then the Panthers roaring back and earning very impressive wins at #1 (Morris/Vilys) and #3 (Epstein/Hilty) doubles both in 8-7 tiebreak fashion! On the doubles courts, we played with courage and conviction in the big moments and that mentality gave us confidence heading into singles against another team that has a very deep singles lineup. As the match began in the evening, all the singles matches were played under the lights in front of a packed home crowd creating a really fun road atmosphere to compete in. With many matches finishing fairly close together, CMS added points to their team total at positions #2-4, while Stan Morris again put together another impressive singles performance winning 6-2, 6-2 at the top position for the Panthers. This left the Panthers needing to capture both #5 and #6 singles. Next to finish was Zach Hilty who played gritty and aggressive ball to earn a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 victory to even the match at four points all! With the team match coming down to his court, #6 singles Zihao Yuan was up a set and at 3-3 in his second set. Staying calm and focused, Zihao played incredibly determined all-around tennis to win three straight games to clinch a huge 5-4 win for the Panther squad! Full match details can be found here.

The Panthers always finding new and creative ways to celebrate a win!

Other Fun Trip Highlights

In addition to the tennis, the Panthers got to enjoy being in SoCal as a group and being together away from campus. We ate incredibly well including the DoubleTree Hotel breakfast, Taco Man (a spring break must), Elvira’s Mexican Grill, and of course Chipotle, Blaze Pizza, and more! Important to fuel up our group! Another annual SoCal team event included enjoying a BBQ feast at Bryan Shapiro’s (a former UC Santa Cruz player for Coach Hansen) who cooked up yet another incredible meal for the hungry Panthers. So appreciate his family’s hospitality and setting us up with some table tennis, hot tub, and corn hole to help our group enjoy some relaxation on one of our off days.

These al pastor Taco Man tacos in Upland, CA are legendary!

Thank You

We also want to take time to thank all the parents, family members, and other supporters who came out to SoCal to watch our matches, brought snacks, and helped take care of our group while we were on the road. It was great to see so many people and made us feel like we were right at home in CA!

Upcoming Events

• Next match @ Wesleyan at 10am EST on Saturday, April 2nd 
• Alumni Match at 10am Saturday, April 16th vs Williams 
• We plan to host food and drinks after the match. Please let us know if you will be joining us.
• Senior Night, April 30th after our Match with Colby (all family and friends are welcome)
• We plan to host food and drinks after the match. Please let us know if you will be joining us.

As always, thanks so much for your support and for following along!

Go Midd!

The Middlebury Men’s Tennis Coach Staff