Bennington, VT -- The Ephs, ranked 7
th nationally, took on the 3
rd ranked Tufts Jumbos in their first NESCAC match of the year. In doubles, Williams jumped out to a quick start, with number one tandem
Nicholas Chen and
Matt Kandel making quick work of their opponents, 8-4. On the third doubles court, despite a rocky start, freshman
Kush Anand and sophomore
Simon Volkema clawed their way back into the match, before breaking late and serving it out 8-5.
The Jumbos won at two doubles 8-5. In singles play, Kandel broke away with a strong start, and went up 4-0 in the first. He would go on to win the set 6-2. Meanwhile
Shawn Berdia went game for game with his opponent, and would ultimately prove too strong in the tiebreaker, winning 7-6.
Leon Liu played strong tennis throughout the first set, but lost 7-5. Kandel then broke late in the second and won it 6-4, putting the Ephs up 3-1 overall. Soon after Berdia finished the job, and Liu fell at number six, making the score 4-2 Williams.
Volkema, Chen, and Anand went on next, and Volkema raced out to a one set lead. After losing the second, he stayed calm, and found himself up 5-2 in the second. Serving for the match at 5-3, Volkema played a brilliant point on match point, but his diving volley landed just wide, and it was on serve again. At 5-5 he would hold comfortably, and then bring some great tennis to win the match and clinch it overall for Williams. Anand and Chen both battled, but lost in a pair of good matches. Eph assistant coach
Andrew Dorr commented on the day, "I am proud of the way we came out and took this match today. The upperclassmen showed their experience, and Simon really stepped up. Can't wait to come back tomorrow and try to get another win against Bates".
Doubles
Chen/Kandel (WIL) def. Vuksanovic/Acaroglu (TUF) 8-4
Ganchev/Maes (TUF) def. Liu/Berdia (WIL) 8-5
Volkema/Anand (WIL) def. Gonzalez/Guttierez (TUF) 8-5
Singles
Kandel (WIL) def. Vuksanovic (TUF) 6-2, 6-4
Berdia (WIL) def. Li (STM) 7-6(4), 6-1
Macintosh (TUF) def. Chen (WIL) 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 10-5
Acaroglu (TUF) def. Anand (WIL) 6-2, 6-3
Volkema (WIL) def. Ganchev (STM) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Bahl (TUF) def. Liu (WIL) 7-5, 6-3
