New London, CT- The men's tennis team played at Connecticut College today, a match that former Ephs tennis legend Arturo Kam describes as "one of the best dias of the año". The weather would certainly play a factor in the match, as heavy winds rattled the fences and some of the players.
The doubles action started out strong for the Ephs, with all three teams going up double breaks early. For the first time since spring break, sophomore standout
Simon Volkema and junior
Shawn Berdia paired up, winning 8-0 in what can only be described as a free clinic. Third doubles would finish shortly after, as freshman
Kush Anand and junior
Andrew Chong wrapped up their doubles set with an 8-2 win. Next came first time pairing
Matt Kandel and "Latvian Lightning"
Leon Liu, winning 8-3 in the top spot.
Following the doubles point, the winds picked up and singles play was on. At the top spot, Kandel dispatched his opponent with a straight sets win. Putting the overall score at 4-0, the Ephs needed only one more win to clinch the victory. As the crowd grew more and more rowdy, calling for Conn's patented "Camel Hump" style of tennis, it was the Latvian Lightning who put the match to bed with a beautiful serve-forehand one-two combo. With the match clinched, Chong decided to lock in, and finished his match in straight sets. It was an especially stellar performance from the man from Phoenix, given that last time he faced this Conn College foe, the match was described by spectators as "An instant classic, a true barn burner."
Anand came next, winning in style as he served and volleyed his way to victory in a confident straight sets affair. The final two matches of the day were quite competitive, as Berdia found himself in a third set tiebreaker and Volkema down 4-1 in the second after squeaking out the first. Volkema stayed composed however, and battled all the way back to win it 7-5, 7-5. Berdia's situation on the other hand looked quite bleak, as he went down 8-3 in the super tiebreaker. However, with a perfectly timed piece of advice from Kandel (stop missing, start making), Berdia's tiebreaker turned around, and one by one he fought all the way to match point, up 9-8. Playing brave in the big moments, Berdia roped a backhand down the line and followed it to net, where he was forced to hit a diving forehand volley to reach the passing shot. On, the ground, Berdia did not know whether he had won or lost the point, and only the cheers of his teammates let him know his heroic effort had sealed the sweep. Avid fan and cup enthusiast Peter Frelinghuysen commented on the match, "Wow, heck of a day to be an Eph. As Turo said before, besides Dia Nacional de Touching, nothing beats a great team win against NESCAC rival Conn College. Go Ephs!" Eph head coach
Dan Greenberg also noted, "Today was a really good win for the boys. In such tough conditions, everyone came out and improved upon something today, and for the entire lineup to show up in such a gritty way is something to be proud of." The Ephs return to action next weekend at Wesleyan April 13 and at Trinity April 14.
Doubles
Kandel/Liu (WIL) def. Fleishman/Leong (CC) 8-3
Berdia/Volkema (WIL) def. Winiecki/Taylor-Ker (CC) 8-0
Chong/Anand (WIL) def. Serhant/Mulligan (CC) 8-2
Singles
Kandel (WIL) def. Premkumar (CC) 6-0, 6-2
Berdia (WIL) def. Taylor-Ker (CC) 4-6, 6-3, 10-8
Volkema (WIL) def. Leong (CC) 7-5, 7-5
Anand (WIL) def. Mulligan (CC) 6-4, 6-2
Liu (WIL) def. Winiecki (CC) 6-1, 6-4
Chong (WIL) def. Anderson (CC) 6-0, 6-1
