Middletown, CT- The men's tennis team took on Wesleyan today in a NESCAC contest. The Ephs came out a little slow in doubles, and found themselves down breaks on courts 2 and 3. Court 1 was deadlocked until 3-3, when the Cardinals held and then pounced and earned a break. The rest was history for the Ephs in doubles as the Wesleyan pairings held their nerve and their serve for the rest of the match, winning on all three courts.
Finding themselves in their first 0-3 hole this season, the Ephs responded in singles by coming out and taking three quick first sets on 1, 4, and 5. Freshman
Kush Anand ultimately finished the job, making quick work of his opponent. Anand found rhythm with the serve and volley, which exposed an extremely apparent weakness in his opponent's game. Bullying the Cardinal player throughout the match, Anand sailed his way to a 6-2, 6-3 win. The next match to finish was on the top court, where
Matt Kandel defeated his opponent in straight sets. Sealed with an ace, the match was tightening up, and the overall score was 3-2 Wesleyan. Unfortunately for the Ephs, court 2 went the way of the Cardinals, and they were one match away from victory.
First Year
Leon Liu found his form in singles and with a straight sets win brought the match to 4-3. All eyes turned to
Simon Volkema who battled back after losing the first to force a deciding third set. The set was back and forth before the Cardinal player raised his level and earned a break for 4-2. Never looking back, Wesleyan clinched the match on court 3. The final score would be 6-3 Wesleyan.
Eph assistant coach Coach
Andrew Dorr said of the match, "Today was not our day, we fell a little flat in doubles and it's never easy to recover from a 3-0 deficit. We just have to regroup and go out and win the next one." The Ephs look to bounce back tomorrow at 10am edt against Trinity College.
Doubles
Bilski/Mitchell (WES) def. Kandel/Liu (WIL) 8-5
Collomb/Lustgarten (WES) def. Berdia/ Volkema (WIL) 8-3
Kasday/Portnoy (WES) def. Chong/Anand (WIL) 8-4
Singles
Kandel (WIL) def. Bilski (WES) 6-3, 7-5
Mitchell (WES) def. Berdia (WIL) 6-4, 6-4
Keeling (WES) def. Volkema (WIL) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Anand (WIL) def. Collomb (WES) 6-2, 6-3
Liu (WIL) def. Litton (WES) 6-2, 6-4
Lustgarten (WES) def. Chong (CC) 7-6, 6-4
