Panthers (5-0) Get Out to a Strong Start

It has been an exciting start to the year with our group racking up five straight wins! Our triumphs included wins over a D-II opponent and three wins over nationally ranked teams including Bates (#39), Brandeis (#20), and Tufts (#5). Our team has highlighted our impressive depth throughout our roster with 100% of our players earning a win across these matches, and a fantastic blend of veteran and underclassmen performances. We know we have played some solid tennis, but that with continued hard work and refinement we can push ourselves to play even better than our current clip. The coaches have been continually impressed by this group’s dedication, and their hunger to continue to get better will certainly serve us well as we prepare for many more exciting and fun challenges ahead (see our spring break schedule below)!

Hugh Hentschel serving up some early season wins with his teammates!

Brandeis University (Midd wins 7-2)

Kicking off our season with a strong opponent, the doubles was intensely contested in this one. Paced by a strong win at #3 doubles (Wu/Lewis) and then a gutsy comeback win at #1 doubles (Epstein/Ward), the Panthers came away with a 2-1 lead headed into singles play. Our squad began to settle in to the dual match environment, and hit hard from all positions earning 5 of 6 singles wins, with the only dropped match being a hard fought 3-set battle. See the full box score here.

Noah Lewis and Nathan Jackson came ready to rumble!

Skidmore College (Midd wins 9-0)

Showing off both our depth and hunger in the second-half of our opening day double-header, the Panthers were amped up to compete. A special note about this match beyond solid play from top to bottom, is that all three of our Freshmen Panthers earned decisive straight set wins, marking the first dual match victories in singles play for each of them simultaneously! See the full box score here.

Saint Michael’s College (Midd wins 9-0)

During another double-header day, the Panthers came out swinging versus our first DII opponent this year. We came out charging in doubles play and never looked back in this one. Across many great highlights, senior standouts Maximus Kim and Andrew Mueller finished off this match in style with impressive straight set victories to secure the match. See the full box score here.

Bates College (Midd wins 9-0)

In our second match of the day, the Panthers simply showed no let up in this one. We took the momentum from the jump, with impressive doubles wins at #1-3 doubles (8-5, 8-5, and 8-3) by Epstein/Ward, Laber/Harris, and Hentschel/Mairs respectively. This is no easy task against a solid Bates team that always comes to play and always has strong doubles. From there, the Panthers took all six singles matches in straight set style, playing to our own high standards across the board. See the full box score here.

Noah Laber and Aidan Harris throwback photo!

Tufts (Midd wins 6-3)

Anytime we take on a top-5 nationally ranked opponent, we know we need to be prepared for a good battle. The match was an exciting one from start to finish, and we had to hit hard across all 9 positions before Tufts finally relinquished the match. In doubles play, we came out strong earning excellent wins at #2 doubles (Laber/Harris) and #3 doubles (Mairs/Hentschel) to get out to a 2-0 lead. Putting the pressure on, our #1 doubles pair (Epstein/Ward) nearly gave us the doubles sweep but fell just short in a tiebreaker. We love that we competed well and put ourselves in great positions across the board in doubles and in singles too. In singles play, we earned 3 impressive and decisive straight set wins at #2 singles (Wu), #3 singles (Ward), and #5 singles (Epstein). Our only two singles losses came in three-set battles, but our 5th clinching point was earned via a third set tiebreaker where #6 singles (Hentschel) posted an awesome 7-0 tiebreak win to secure the victory for the Panthers! See the full box score here.

Julian Wu (Juju) calm and collected per usual!

Neel Epstein bringing the focus!

Spring Break

Next up on our journey is our spring break trip to SoCal, which is always a highlight both on the courts and off. As we transition to more outdoor matches and play a slate of challenging opponents throughout the week, it will be a great test and way to push our games to grow to new heights. Beyond the matches, traveling together and sharing the bonds that often become fully forged on the road will continue to build our already strong comradery. Check out our Spring Break Schedule below and as always you can check out our schedule/results page to check out our live scoring and live streaming.

Go Midd!

Cheers,

The Middlebury Tennis Coaching Staff