Ephs Capture 19th Consecutive Little Three Championship

AMHERST, MA - The Ephs turned in a pair of strong performances on Saturday to win their 19th consecutive Little Three Championship.

In the first match, sophomore William Means (#3), junior Ben Eisenberg (#6), and senior co-captain Jamie Havran (#9) led off play for the Ephs. All three turned in wins, with Means and Havran triumphing 3-0 while Eisenberg was made to work a bit harder for an eventual 3-2 victory. Next on were sophomores Carl Shuck (#2) and Claude Smith (#5), joined by senior co-captain Andrew Litvin. Shuck added another solid 3-0 win, while Smith and Litvin each battled their way to two more five game victories. Juniors John Fitzgerald (#1) and Anand Butler (#7), along with sophomore David Pincus (#4), all closed out the match in the final wave of play. Pincus and Butler added another pair of strong 3-0 wins. After dropping the first game, Fitzgerald rallied back well to win the next three and close his match out in four games.

In the second match of the day, the Ephs dropped only a single match to Wesleyan in an 8-1 win. First on for the Ephs were juniors Will Ruggiero (#6) and Oscar Merino (#9), joined by sophomore David Pincus (#3). The trio got the Ephs off to a great start with three victories, with Ruggiero and Merino winning by 3-0 scorelines and Pincus by a 3-1. Following on were sophomore Will Means (#2) and senior co-captains Andrew Litvin (#5) and Mason Elizondo (#8). This second wave of play earned another three wins for the Ephs. Litvin and Elizondo each won in three games while Means won in four. Last on court were sophomore Carl Shuck (#1), junior Anand Butler (#4), and senior co-captain Jamie Havran (#7). Havran and Butler contributed another pair of three game wins. Shuck played a tough five game battle but eventually lost out against a strong player.

Coach Zafi Levy had this to comment about Saturday's play: "A strong performance by the team today. Playing back to back is never easy, especially since we were missing two players for injuries and sickness. The team battled hard all afternoon against two strong teams. Our seniors stepped up big today. Winning the Little Three 19 times in a row is a testament to our strong culture and high quality of players.