HANOVER, NH --Â Day 2 of the Dartmouth Invitational proved to be a day of close contests and learning opportunities for the Williams College tennis team. While the Ephs were challenged across both doubles and singles play, there were several standout performances that underscored the team's determination and potential.
The day opened with two rounds of intense doubles matches. Senior
Shawn Berdia and first year
Robert Cooper Jr. impressed in their first time pairing up, clinching two victories. In the first round, they took down Dartmouth's Guerrero and Takeda 6-4, and later edged past Qadir and Groom in a nail-biting 7-6(3) tiebreaker. The team of
Nicholas Chen and
Jack Ling fought valiantly but fell 6-3 in the first round to Dartmouth's Qadir and Groom and were edged out 7-5 by Guerrero and Takeda in the second round.
On the other courts, the doubles pairing of sophomore
Leon Liu and first-year
Diego Marin nearly pulled off an upset in their first-round match, taking Dartmouth's Knox-Jones and Yuan to a tiebreaker before narrowly falling 7-6(5). In their second-round match, they struggled to regain momentum, losing 6-3 to Baquero and Peterson from Bryant. Senior
Andrew Chong and first-year
Carter Fayard also saw mixed results, dropping their opening doubles match 6-4 to Bryant's Baquero and Peterson and losing 6-1 to Dartmouth's Barber and Onuma in the second round.
The singles matches highlighted the grit and perseverance of the Ephs, with several close contests keeping fans on the edge of their seats. First-year
Jack Ling provided a bright spot, securing a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Bryant's Baril in a commanding performance in his first collegiate career win. Junior
Nicholas Chen got off to a strong start in his match against Dartmouth's Guerrero, winning the first set 6-4, but Guerrero battled back to take the match 4-6, 6-2, 10-7 in a thrilling contest.
Senior Captain
Andrew Chong faced tough opposition from Dartmouth's Yuan, falling 6-3, 6-1, while sophomore
Leon Liu mounted a comeback after dropping the first set to Dartmouth's Barber. Liu took the second set 6-2 before losing in the third-set tiebreaker, 10-3. Freshman
Robert Cooper Jr. showed promise in his match against Dartmouth's Knox-Jones, narrowly losing 6-4, 7-6(1), demonstrating his ability to compete at a high level early in his college career. Fellow first-year
Diego Marin struggled to find his rhythm against Dartmouth's Onuma, losing 6-2, 6-2, and senior
Shawn Berdia fought valiantly but fell 6-4, 7-5 to Dartmouth's Groom. Freshman
Carter Fayard had his singles match cut short due to injury, retiring at 6-1, 1-0 against Bryant's Peterson.
Speaking of the day, head coach
Dan Greenberg expressed, "We didn't get the wins today, but love how we came out swinging in doubles and pushed our opponents to the brink in singles. We gave ourselves chances to win and hopefully convert those the more matches we play." Adding on to that, assistant coach
Andrew Dorr said, "We committed to playing our style of tennis. Couldn't be happier with how we competed and excited for tomorrow for another opportunity to learn and get better." As the Ephs head into the final day of the Dartmouth Invitational, the team looks poised to build on their performances and come back stronger.
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Doubles Round 1:
Qadir/Groom (DART) def. Chen/Ling (WIL) 6-3
Berdia/Cooper (WIL) def. Guerrero/Takeda (DART) 6-4
Knox-Jones/Yuan (DART) def. Liu/Marin (WIL) 7-6 (5)
Baquero/Peterson (BRY) def. Chong/Fayard (WIL) 6-4
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Doubles Round 2:
Berdia/Cooper (WIL) def. Qadir/Groom (DART) 7-6 (3)
Guerrero/Takeda (DART) def. Chen/Ling (WIL) 7-5
Barber/Onuma (DART) def. Chong/Fayard (WIL) 6-1
Baquero/Peterson (BRY) def. Liu/Marin (WIL) 6-3
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Singles:
Ling (WIL) def. Baril (BRY) 7-5, 6-1
Barber (DART) def. Liu (WIL) 6-1, 2-6, 10-3
Yuan (DART) def. Chong (WIL) 6-3, 6-1
Guerrero (DART) def. Chen (WIL) 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
Knox-Jones (DART) def. Cooper (WIL) 6-4, 7-6 (1)
Onuma (DART) def. Marin (WIL) 6-2, 6-2
Groom (DART) def. Berdia (WIL) 6-4, 7-5
Peterson (BRY) def. Fayard (WIL) 6-1, 1-0 (ret.)
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