Bowdoin defeats Williams 5-4 in third round of DIII NCAA tournament

Williamstown, MA - After falling to Bowdoin in the semifinals of the 2023 NESCAC championships, the Williams Men's tennis team faces them again in the third round of the NCAA DIII tennis championships. The rematch proved victorious for Bowdoin, who won 5-4 after over three hours battling on the hottest day of May yet. Bowdoin's head coach Conor Smith reflects, "It was an incredible nail-biter. There was a lot of guts on both sides. It was just an unbelievable battle all the way through."

Williams took the lead 2-1 in doubles. At number three, Simon Volkema and Shawn Berdia went up 2-0 early. They played aggressive opponents with big groundstrokes, who fought to tie up the score 3-3. However, Volkema and Berdia were unfazed, neutralizing their opponents' heavy forehands and steadily climbing to an 8-3 win. Williams number two doubles Andrew Chong and Matt Kandel also found an early 3-0 lead. They used their big serves to dominate at the net and put pressure on their opponents. Although the Polar Bears fought back to a 4-4 tie, the Ephs were too strong, and won 8-4. 

On court number one, first years Nicholas Chen and Jason Shuler went down 1-3 and fought to stay within a break. It was a battle to be the first team to close the net and get two up. Tensions rose as spectators gathered to watch the number one teams tied 4-4 and traded games into a tiebreak. Ultimately, the Polar Bears forced the errors from the Ephs and won the tiebreaker 7-3. 

Despite being down 2-1 after doubles, Bowdoin battled hard in singles, clinching the final match in a third with the team score tied at 4 overall. At number three, Chen went down 2-1 in the first to an opponent who got every ball back. Unable to find his groove, Chen fell 6-3, 6-3, which tied the overall score 2-2. At number six, after losing the first set, Karan Amin tried to use his big forehand to dictate the point and went up 4-1 in the second, but his Bowdoin opponent climbed back up and took the second 6-4, giving Bowdoin a 3-2 lead. 

At number five Volkema played a stellar match, taking the first set 6-1. He played a heavy hitter who he had lost to last weekend, but today Volkema matched him on each shot. In a tight second set, Volkema had the edge, winning 7-5 and tying up the overall score. Winning shortly afterwards at number two, Shuler played a grinder who forced the Eph to play a lot of balls. Though Shuler found himself down 0-3 in the first set, he got into his groove, using his all-court game to win 7-5. The momentum carried him to a 6-3 second set win, which gave Williams another point at 4-3. 

The spectators all gathered around court 4 to watch Berdia as he fought to split sets after losing the first. His opponent made a lot of balls and stayed tough in every point. Berdia forced the set into a tiebreaker, but ultimately Bowdoin went up early in the tiebreak 4-1 and kept up the momentum until a 7-2 decision. 

With the overall score at 4-4, all eyes turned to court 1, where Kandel battled to win the second set and match. While his big serve and forehand dictated points in the first set,  Bowdoin's Tristan Bradley found his groove in the second and ripped his forehand to win 7-5. In the third, the number one players traded games until 5-5, when Bowdoin went up 6-5 and then clinched on the deuce point to win the match and book their ticket to Orlando.

Bowdoin Conor Smith added, "We were playing down from behind for a brief window and it was neck and neck. Williams didn't go anywhere. That's about as 50-50 a match as you can get." 

NCAA Division III Third Round: No. 11 Bowdoin defeats No. 5 Williams, 5-4, on Hunt Tennis Center at Williams College (5-7-2023, noon)

Doubles:

No. 1 Doubles: Tristan Bradley and Reid Staples (Bowdoin) defeats Nicholas Chen and Jason Shuler (Williams), 8-7 (3)

No. 2 Doubles: Andrew Chong and Matt Kandel (Williams) defeats Ethan Bradley and Pieter Breuker (Bowdoin), 8-4

No. 3 Doubles: Simon Volkema and Shawn Berdia (Williams) defeats Evan Fortier and Mark Kneiss (Bowdoin), 8-3

Singles:

No. 1 Singles: Tristan Bradley (Bowdoin) defeats Matt Kandel (Williams), 4-6, 7-5, 7-5

No. 2 Singles: Jason Shuler (Williams) defeats Reid Staples (Bowdoin), 7-5, 6-3

No. 3 Singles: Pieter Breuker (Bowdoin) defeats Nicholas Chen (Williams), 6-3, 6-3

No. 4 Singles: Mark Kneiss (Bowdoin) defeats Shawn Berdia (Williams), 6-0, 7-6 (3)

No. 5 Singles: Simon Volkema (Williams) defeats Ethan Bradley (Bowdoin), 6-1, 7-5

No. 6 Singles: Evan Fortier (Bowdoin) defeats Karan Amin (Williams), 6-3, 6-4