WILLIAMSTOWN,
MA. – Third-seeded Williams (11-4), the host of the
2009 NESCAC men's tennis championships, dealt sixth-seeded
Bates (10-5) a 5-1 loss to advance to the conference semifinals
tomorrow against second-seeded Amherst College.
The Bobcats and the Ephs squared off just ten days ago, with
Williams taking the 7-2 win.
The doubles matches unfolded in similar
fashion, with Bates's top duo of Stein and Rupesinghe taking
the win at court one and the following two wins coming at the hands
of the Ephs. The
match was knotted until the finish, when the visiting team took a
7-4 tiebreak. Nick
Lebedoff and Will Petrie, and Jeremy Weinberger and Kevin
Shallcross, tallied solid 8-2 and 8-3 wins for the Ephs,
respectively.
"It was nice to get off to a quick start today
in the doubles," said Ephs' head coach Dave Donn. "I thought
our guys brought the intensity required for us to be successful."
With the match played to decision, Williams
needed three wins in singles to take the match.
Seniors Rick Devlin and Karol Furmaga took quick 6-1, 7-5 decisions
at courts three and six, while Weinberger battled in a second set
tiebreak to clinch the match.
Williams will face off against Amherst at 9:00
a.m. tomorrow. Amherst defeated Williams on April 12 in a
tight 5-4 match.
"Amherst has a very strong team and they are
well coached," continued Donn. "We are excited for the
challenge that lies ahead tomorrow."
Williams 5,
Bates 1
Doubles-
1)
Ben Stein/Amrit Rupesinghe (B) def. Bret Thacher/Dicken Chaplin (W)
--- 9-8 (7)
2)
Nick Lebedoff/Will Petrie (W) def. Max Berger/Ryan Mannelly (B) ---
8
-2
3)
Jeremy Weinberger/Kevin Shallcross (W) def. Zach Fenno/Mike Reiss
(B) --- 8-3
Singles-
1)
Lebedoff (W) vs. Stein (B) --- DNF
2)
Weinberger (W) def. Rupasinghe (B) --- 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
3)
Rick Devlin (W) def. Berger (B) --- 6-1, 7-5
4)
Petrie (W) vs. Reiss (B) --- DNF
5)
Kevin Shallcross (W) vs. Fenno (B) --- DNF
6)
Karol Furmaga (W) def. Mike Sherman (B) --- 6-1, 7-5
