Ephs Go Mammoth Hunting and Secure a 5-4 Victory Over Amherst

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at Hamilton College

4/21/2024 | noon

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Apr. 21 (Sun) / noon

at Hamilton College

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Amherst, MA - The Eph men's tennis team traveled to Amherst College for a match against arch rval Amherst. With Amherst ranked tops in the NESCAC and Williams number 2, this match had lots of implications beyond just the illustrious past of these two fine institutions. In doubles play, the Ephs stepped up quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead at the number one spot. Sophomore Nicholas Chen, returning from an injury, showed no signs of rust, as his all-court doubles play dominated the day. The top pair for Williams would go on to win the match 8-7, which was a much needed win for the Ephs after going down 2-0 overall as Amherst won on courts 2 and 3.

Thus the stage was set for singles. The Ephs needed 4 singles victories to win, and the race to 5 wins was on. On the top court, Matt Kandel quickly took care of the first set, running away with it 6-2. On court 5, Leon Liu would follow suit, winning his first set as well. After an up and down first set on court 2, Shawn Berdia elected to lock in, and took his first set 6-4. The Ephs would lose the first sets on the other three courts however, meaning someone would have to come from behind for Williams to win this match.

In fine form, Kandel finished the job in straight sets, and the match was even 2-2. Shortly after that Amherst won on court 3, and Williams on 5, putting the overall score at 3-3. With three matches remaining, it was best two out of three for the overall win. Andrew Chong flashed his brilliance after losing the first set, bringing himself to 5-2 in the second. Kush Anand also went up 5-2 after losing the first, and Berdia, despite being up 3-0 double break, found himself in a battle, and would go down 4-3 in the second. Leads began slipping away for the Ephs, and the momentum was with Amherst. Court 6 was leveled at 5-5 and court 4 saw Amherst serving at 4-5. But Anand dug in just a little bit deeper than his opponent, and worked his way to a no-ad deuce point, which was also a set point. His opponent, who had been brimming with confidence after two straight games, stepped up to the line and faltered, double faulting the set away. On court 6, the Amherst player barely crossed the finish line, putting the Mammoths up 4-3. Berdia, serving at 4-5, saved a set point with a massive forehand cross-court winner, causing audible groans from the fan base Amherst had present.

The groans would soon turn into moans, and moans. The Amherst faithful were powerless as Berdia stepped up to the line to serve at 6-5, and calmly fired off four points, leveling the match at 4-4. All eyes turned to Anand, but not for long, because while Berdia had been taking care of his match on 2, Anand found himself up 5-2, 40-0 with four match points. Anand meticulously maneuvered his match point, finding his way to the net, before a scintillating smash sent the Ephs to triumph.

Eph head coach Dan Greenberg said after the match, "Wow what a win for the boys today. Playing Amherst is always an 'all bets are off' type of match given the history of this rivalry. Matches like these are what college tennis is all about, and I couldn't be more proud of the way we competed at the end of singles to take this one home." The Ephs return to action tomorrow against Hamilton at 12:00 EDT. in Clinton, NY.