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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
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