AMHERST, MA – The #10 Williams College men's tennis team began its last weekend of the regular season against its archrivals, the #8 Amherst College Mammoths (22-3; NESCAC 6-1). The Ephs had a 3-3 conference record that they were looking to improve upon heading into the conference tournament the following weekend. The Mammoths, however, were the superior team on Saturday, and won the match 7-2.
In doubles, where Williams has been dominant this year, the Mammoths won every match, putting the Ephs in an early hole. Although all of the matches were close, Amherst held firm, and took a decisive 3-0 lead heading into singles.
A few wins by Brian Grodecki '18 and Sachin Raghavan '18 gave the Ephs a chance, but they were not able to wrap up any more victories. Deepak Indrakanti '19 and Ananth Raghavan '20 both forced their matches into super tiebreakers, but were both defeated 10-5 in the final frame. These two wins, combined with the two-set victories provided by Zach Bessette and Nathan Kaplin, led the Mammoths to a victory.
Head coach Dan Greenberg called the match, in a word, "frustrating".
"We started out sloppy in doubles, missing way too many first serves and returns," he said. "We made a run in singles, with moments to make it a real match, but we never quite dug ourselves out. We'll look to start and finish better tomorrow."
The Ephs (11-6; NESCAC 3-4) got will look to win their final match of the regular season on Sunday against the Trinity College Bantams (5-8; NESCAC 1-5) to bring their record to 12-6 and to finish the season at .500 in conference. The team is surely hoping that the loss to Amherst will provide a much-needed jolt as they head into the most crucial part of the season.
In addition, Amherst's starting team was, with the exception of senior Andrew Arnaboldi, exclusively first-years and sophomores. The Mammoths will be a difficult opponent for years to come against the Ephs, as these players will continue to improve as the years go on. The Ephs will hope that the tide turns in their favor next year.
The match against Trinity will take place at 12:00 p.m. at the Hunt Tennis Courts in Williamstown.
Amherst 7, Williams 2
Doubles:
Zach Bessette/Jayson Fung (A) def. Alex Taylor/Brian Grodecki (W) – 8-5
Oscar Burney/Josh Marchalik (A) def. Jordan Sadowsky/Rohan Shastri (W) – 8-6
Andrew Arnaboldi/Nathan Kaplin (A) def. Benjamin Lebowitz/Sachin Raghavan (W) – 8-6
Singles:
Zach Bessette (A) def. Rohan Shastri (W) – 6-2, 7-5
Brian Grodecki (W) def. Josh Marchalik (A) – 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Sachin Raghavan (W) def. Gabe Owens (A) – 6-4, 6-3
Jayson Fung (A) def. Deepak Indrakanti (W) – 6-3, 3-6, 10-5
Jesse Levitin (A) def. Ananth Raghavan (W) – 6-7, 6-3, 10-5
Nathan Kaplin (A) def. Benjamin Lebowitz (W) – 6-1, 7-5
