Middletown, CT- In the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament, the Ephs took on the Colby College Mules for the second time in six days, and the result was no different from last week. In a dominant display, the Ephs ended the Mules' season, as Williams swept the match 5-0.
In doubles play, the number one and number two pairings of
Matt Kandel and
Nicholas Chen, and
Simon Volkema and
Kush Anand, raced out to big leads, both of them going up 5-0 early on. Chen and Kandel looked poised in the top spot, as they complimented each other's games beautifully, setting each other up time and time again for big overheads slams and a couple deftly touched volleys to win 8-1. Anand and Volkema also cruised throughout, and finished with an 8-1 victory. Powerful serving and controlled aggression proved too much for their opponents as they finished just seconds after the top court, putting Williams up 2-0. On the third court,
Shawn Berdia and
Leon Liu found themselves up 6-3, before a crucial deuce point went the way of the Mules, putting the match back on serve. The match would go to a tiebreaker, where Colby started off hot, going up 4-1. Never wavering however, the Ephs tied it up 4-4, then 5-5 before Berdia cranked a beautiful backhand return down the line winner to give the Ephs match point. Liu served it out with precision, winning the doubles match for Williams and putting them up 3-0.
As singles began, the Ephs only needed two wins to clinch, and then the rest of the matches would be abandoned. The Ephs controlled all over the place, but courts 3 and 4 sped through their first sets with ease. On courts 5 and 6, Liu and Anand battled their spirited opponents, and both played tight first sets, but ultimately would not complete their matches. The same was true for courts 1 and 2, where Berdia and Kandel were both competing hard. Ultimately, Volkema and Chen produced some absolute gems and when the gems turned into winners the match was quickly decided 5-0.
Eph head coach
Dan Greenberg commented, "Today was a good win, I'm happy we swept doubles and continued to play well in singles. I'm looking forward to our semifinal clash tomorrow with Tufts." The Ephs play Tufts tomorrow at 9:00 am at the Amherst College Tennis Gardens in a semifinal matchup. Williams is 3-1 against the Jumbos in the NESCAC Tournament series and defeated Tufts, 5-4, back on March 9. The teams last met in the 2022 semifinals with Tufts earning a 5-3 win.
Doubles
Kandel/Chen (WIL) def. Cohen/Henry (COB) 8-1
Volkema/Anand (WIL) def. Alapati/Dandler (8-1)
Berdia/Liu (WIL) def. Barrett/Kwong (COB) 8-7(5)
Singles
Kandel (WIL) vs. Barrett (COB) 6-4, 1-1
Berdia (WIL) vs. Cohen (COB) 3-6 2-1
Chen (WIL) def. Henry (COB) 6-3, 6-1
Volkema (WIL) def. Dandler (COB) 6-1, 6-3
Liu (WIL) vs. Alapati (COB) 6-4, 1-3
Anand (WIL) vs. Barrett (COB) 5-7, 1-1
