We have quickly gotten off to an impressive start, winning 9 consecutive matches (8 road wins and 1 neutral site win) to kick off the year! Our longest streak to begin the season since the spring of 2013 if our research was correct. In accomplishing this feat we began with a road slate of matches in the northeast, before adjusting to some SoCal heat on our spring break trip!
Our triumphs included wins over many nationally ranked teams including RPI (#20), Wesleyan (#23), Pomona-Pitzer (#17), and Redlands (#25). Across these matches, we have seen both our upperclassmen leading the charge, and our freshmen and sophomores earning key victories to set us up for success. Clearly, a core strength of our squad this year is our togetherness and ability to win matches from any position across our lineup! Here’s a review of our matches and a highlight of what is ahead!
RPI (Midd wins 7-0)
Kicking off our season with a ranked opponent on the road, the doubles was intensely contested in this one. We secured three very hard-fought doubles wins at all three positions, two in tiebreakers. After that, we never looked back winning all six singles matches in straight sets.
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| Anand ripping a forehand. |
Conn (Midd wins 7-0)
Beginning our NESCAC conference play, we cruised in this one and brought great team energy and focus throughout. In particular we showed off some excellent team depth and improved doubles play.
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| Nikky dialing in a kick serve! |
Wesleyan (Midd wins 5-2)
In a match that was anything but easy, Wesleyan fought us from start to finish. We dropped the doubles point losing a tiebreaker at the top slot, but our resilience was highlighted in this match as we displayed a toughness and grittiness to come out strong in singles even though we did not have the doubles momentum. Highlight goes to Thehan at #3 singles who secured the clinch in this match in what would become a theme for him!
Bates (Midd wins 5-2)
To secure our fourth match of the year, we knew it would be a dog fight as Bates is always a tricky match to play on the road. We began with an impressive doubles performance finding our way to clinching the doubles point with wins at #1 and #3 doubles. In singles play, the biggest key was winning all three matches that went to third sets at #1, #3 and #6 singles! Again, Thehan was the guy who earned the clinch before teammate Anand could beat him to it!
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| Sid digging out a ball and extending a point! |
Chapman (Midd wins 7-0)
After a few travel delays, our team was thrilled to have made it to SoCal to kick off our first of six matches on the trip. Despite not being able to train the day before, our group did not blink and adjusted the conditions quickly to earn the doubles point, which gave us confidence to follow with six well-earned straight set singles wins.
Linfield (Midd wins 7-0)
Taking on a double header on our first day of competition, our group remained locked in from start to finish again highlighting our fortitude and depth. Fun to play a squad from the Pacific Northwest who we had not played before.
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| Nate Jackson rocking a kick serve! |
Whittier (Midd wins 7-0)
In what became a theme, our group again was building on our momentum and rising confidence taking it to the Poets. All four of our freshmen earned straight set singles wins in this one! Another cool fact was that new Whittier assistant coach Ernesto Escobedo, a veteran ATP player with a career high ranking of 67 in the world, was warming up on the courts next to us!
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| Nate Hernandez driving a backhand! |
Pomona (Midd wins 5-2)
Avenging our loss to Pomona last year, we came out determined to fight and battle in this one. Reif and Thehan secured the doubles point in tiebreak fashion following a solid 6-3 performance from Hugh and Andy! In singles play, Juju took out another one of the highest ranked players in d3. Set up by an earlier win from Hugh, Thehan again found his way to clinching the team win yet again! Shout out to both Reif and Anand who both played all the way to a full third set tiebreaker, with the match ending with a win by Anand!
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| Anand rocking another forehand! |
Redlands (Midd wins 6-1)
In arguably our most complete performance of the season, our squad posted a really impressive result versus Redlands. This time it was Andy and Hugh clinching the doubles point. In attempt to build on this momentum more than we were able to the previous day, we got off to quicker starts in singles and never looked back earning five straight set victories, with the clinching win coming from Noah!
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| Reif roping a backhand! |
Next up on our journey is the final match on our spring break trip tomorrow at CMS at 11am PST, followed by a slate of upcoming NESCAC matches. Be sure to check our schedule and results page on our website!
Go Midd!
