AMHERST,
MA. – In the always highly anticipated match up
between Williams and Amherst, the #5 Ephs (6-3, 1-1) fell short in
a 5-4 loss to the rival #7 Lord Jeffs (20-4, 4-0). Due to adverse weather
conditions, the match was moved indoors at Hampshire College.
While Williams headed into singles play with a
2-1 edge, the Lord Jeffs clawed from behind in individual play for
the victory. Amherst
tallied their lone doubles point at court one. Nick Lebedoff and Will Petrie
sailed through their match in an 8-1 showing at court two, while
Jeremy Weinberger and Kevin Shallcross continued to produce
positive results at court three with an 8-6 win.
Because of the indoor facilities, only the
first four singles matches took the courts immediately following
doubles. Will Petrie
suffered his first loss of the year, falling in
a 6-1, 6-2 match to Amherst's Andrew Jung. Rick Devlin continued his solid
play at the three spot, pulling out a second set tiebreak for an
Eph point.
The top two matches were thrilling three
setters. Weinberger
edged his opponent in a second set tiebreak, but couldn't
continue his run into the third set. Lebedoff and Amherst's
Zack Lerner played the match of the day. While Williams' number one
player broke Lerner late to take the first set, the Lord Jeff
battled through cramps to take it in three.
Amherst took the deciding fifth point at court
six. Bret Thacher,
appearing in his first singles match of the season, fell in
straight sets. With the match decided, Kevin Shallcro
ss and Priit Gross played
a super tiebreaker to end it, with Shallcross coming out on top.
“I give a lot of credit to
Amherst,” said Williams' head coach Dave Donn. “They stepped up and
won the big points when it was necessary. We had our chances, and
we're disappointed, but I'm optimistic about where I
know this team can go. Again, we just came up on the
smaller side of points. We'll head to the drawing
board and keep working.”
The Ephs will look to rebound in their first
home match of the season. They host Bowdoin on Saturday at
2:00 p.m.
Amherst 5,
Williams 4
Doubles
1.
Zack Lerner/Moritz Koenig (AC) def. Bret Thacher/Dicken
Chaplin (WC) 8-5
2.
Nick Lebedoff/Will Petrie (WC) def. Austin Chafetz/Priit Gross
(AC) 8-1
3.
Jeremy Weinberger/Kevin Shallcross (WC) def. Andrew Jung/Wes
Waterman (AC) 8-6
Singles
1.
Zack Lerner (AC) def. Nick Lebedoff (WC) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
2.
Austin Chafetz (AC) def. Jeremy Weinberger (WC) 4-6, 7-6, 6-2
3.
Rick Devlin (WC) def. Moritz Koenig (AC) 6-4, 7-6
4.
Andrew Jung (AC) def. Will Petrie (WC) 6-1, 6-2
5.
Kevin Shallcross (WC) def. Priit Gross (AC) 6-4, 3-6, (10-5)
6. Wes Waterman (AC) def. Bret Thacher (WC)
6-2, 6-2
