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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – After two wins and no losses the previous weekend, the #9 Williams College Ephs hosted their toughest test since #1 Middlebury two weeks before in the #4 Bowdoin College Polar Bears (13-2; NESCAC 5-1). In a very close match between two top-10 teams, the Polar Bears were able to overcome the Ephs, 5-4.
Doubles proved to be a deciding factor in the match, as Bowdoin won two of the three matches. Alex Taylor '20 and Brian Grodecki '18 lost their first match of the season against Luke Tercek and Grant Urken, 8-5. Their record together on the season now sits at 14-1. In the next two matches, the picked up one win and accumulated a loss; Jordan Sadowsky '18 and Rohan Shastri '17 won 8-5, while Benjamin Lebowitz '20 and Sachin Raghavan '18 fell 8-6 in their match.
To make up the early deficit, Williams had to win 4 of the remaining 6 matches in the singles portion of the match. Despite having multiple 3-set matches, the Ephs could not seal the match, and came up just short by winning only three matches.
Despite the result, head coach Dan Greenberg had many positives to take from the match.
"We had Bowdoin on the ropes and they hung around," he said. "We're giving ourselves chances to beat the top teams in the nation, so we'll try to bounce back tomorrow and keep working on winning these opportunities."
Aside from being one of the top teams in Division III, Bowdoin also has no seniors, so will return next season with the same strong core and possibly some difference-making recruits. The Ephs have known since the beginning of the season that the NESCAC will always pose a challenge, whether this year or any other.
Williams 4, Bowdoin 5
Doubles:
Luke Tercek/Grant Urken (B) def. Alex Taylor/Brian Grodecki (W) – 8-5
Jordan Sadowsky/Rohan Shastri (W) def. Kyle Wolfe/Jerry Jiang (B) – 8-5
Gil Roddy/Justin Patel (B) def. Benjamin Lebowitz/Sachin Raghavan (W) – 8-6
Singles:
Rohan Shastri (W) def. Luke Tercek (B) – 7-6, 6-3
Grant Urken (B) def. Brian Grodecki (W) – 6-7, 7-5, 6-2
Sachin Raghavan (W) def. Kyle Wolfe (B) – 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
Jerry Jiang (B) def. Deepak Indrakanti (W) – 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
Gil Roddy (B) def. Alex Taylor (W) – 6-4, 6-3
Ananth Raghavan (W) def. Luke Carstens (B) – 6-1, 6-0
