WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — Heading into their final weekend of the regular season, the Ephs first took the court against an intensely competitive Bowdoin, ranked eighth nationally and third in the region behind fellow NESCAC outfits Amherst and Middlebury. The Ephs were looking to collect a meaningful win and upset and appeared to give themselves a chance to do just that after doubles, but the Polar Bears regrouped in singles to overtake the Ephs and hand them a tough 6-3 loss.
The Ephs dominated at one-doubles, as the combination of freshman Jordan Sadowsky and Alexander Schidlovsky were far too much for the likes of Polar Bear junior Luke Trinka and freshman Luke Tercek to handle, overpowering them 8-3.
The remaining two doubles matches were closer affairs that both ended in one-break margins of victory. The Eph number two pairing of junior Jose Raventos and sophomore Rohan Shastri came out on the better end of an 8-5 scoreline against their Polar Bear counterparts, freshman Gil Roddy and senior Kyle Wolstencroft, but their freshmen compatriots, Sachin Raghavan and Brian Grodecki, proved not to be as lucky on court 3, dropping their tilt with senior Noah Bragg and freshman Kyle Wolfe by the same margin.
The Ephs took their 2-1 lead into singles, hoping to capitalize early and create some space between themselves and the Polar Bears, but it took very little time for Bowdoin to make up the ground they had conceded in singles, as they won 5 out of 6 first sets.
Wolfe made quick work of Schidlovsky at three-singles, racing to a 6-1 first set and an early second-set lead that he subsequently rode to the finish line to draw the Polar Bears level with the Ephs in the overall match score.
Bragg and Trinka would follow Wolfe's example in quick succession a few minutes later, as they respectively dropped Shastri and Raventos on courts 2 and 1, 6-4, 6-3 and 6-3, 6-3.
Only requiring a win on one of the three remaining courts, the Ephs once again found themselves with their backs against the wall. The freshmen, Raghavan and Grodecki, fought well, forcing third sets on both of their courts, but their efforts were ultimately ineffectual as Harron fell to Roddy 6-3 and 6-1, before either of their matches could start their deciding sets.
In lieu of the final sets, each of the courts played out super tiebreakers. Coincidentally, both matches had the exact same scoreline of 10-8 after exchanging pairs of 7-5 sets, with the Ephs taking Grodecki's match at four-singles against Tercek and the Polar Bears taking Wolstencroft's at five-singles against Raghavan.
"We gave away too many points. The freshmen really dug in well today, but the rest of the singles lineup didn't," reflected Eph head coach Dan Greenberg after the disappointing loss.
The Ephs will look to give away fewer points tomorrow as they close out their regular season with a home match against Bates. With a win, the Ephs will draw their NESCAC record to .500 and build some confidence going into next weekend's NESCAC tournament. The match with Bates is set to start at 1 PM EDT on Sunday at the Torrence M. Hunt Tennis Center.
Bowdoin 6, Williams 3
1. Trinka, Luke (BOWDOIN) def. Raventos, Jose (WILLIAMS) 6-3, 6-3
2. Bragg, Noah (BOWDOIN) def. Shastri, Rohan (WILLIAMS) 6-4, 6-3
3. Wolfe, Kyle (BOWDOIN) def. Schidlovsky, Alexander (WILLIAMS) 6-1, 6-4
4. Grodecki, Brian (WILLIAMS) def. Tercek, Luke (BOWDOIN) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0(8)
5. Wolstencroft, Kyle (BOWDOIN) def. Raghavan, Sachin (WILLIAMS) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0(8)
6. Roddy, Gil (BOWDOIN) def. Harron, Conrad (WILLIAMS) 6-3, 6-1
1. Sadowsky, Jordan/Schidlovsky, Alexander (WILLIAMS) def. Trinka, Luke/Tercek, Luke (BOWDOIN) 8-3
2. Raventos, Jose/Shastri, Rohan (WILLIAMS) def. Wolstencroft, Kyle/Roddy, Gil (BOWDOIN) 8-5
3. Wolfe, Kyle/Bragg, Noah (BOWDOIN) def. Grodecki, Brian/Raghavan, Sachin (WILLIAMS) 8-5
Match Notes:
Williams 9-9, NESCAC 3-4, nationally ranked #14, regionally ranked #4
Bowdoin 13-4, NESCAC 6-3, nationally ranked #8, regionally ranked #3
