BENNINGTON, VT – Less than 24 hours after a grueling battle with Amherst, the Ephs returned to the Bennington bubble with resilience and determination, bouncing back with a commanding 6-1 win over Hamilton. With composed doubles play and dominant performances in singles, Williams controlled the match from start to finish.
Doubles action set the tone.
Simon Volkema and
Andrew Chong secured an early break in their set and held their serves with poise to win 6-4. The doubles point all came down to
Nicholas Chen and
Shawn Berdia, who found themselves in a tense battle at No. 1. Down 5-6, deuce point, Berdia delivered a perfectly placed second serve, setting up Chen for a sharp volley winner at the net. The duo then fell behind 3-0 in the tiebreak but remained composed, crafting well-structured points and using sharp net play to surge back and take the match 7-6(5), clinching the crucial doubles point.
From there, the Ephs took over. Chen wasted no time at No. 1, overwhelming Hamilton's Anderson with relentless aggression and precise shot-making en route to a 6-0, 6-3 victory. At No. 5, first year
Jack Ling played with maturity well beyond his years, using intelligent shot selection and a composed demeanor to dominate his opponent 6-3, 6-1.
At No. 2, Berdia found himself in a tense first-set tiebreak, trailing 6-3. He then rattled off five straight points, taking the breaker 8-6 before carrying his momentum into the second set for a 7-6(6), 6-3 win. Volkema followed suit at No. 3, maintaining focus despite his opponent struggling with an injury and trying to disrupt his rhythm. Meanwhile, freshman
Diego Marin captured his first collegiate singles victory at No. 6, bouncing back impressively from a tight loss the day before. Unfazed by the moment, Marin dominated the first set 6-2 and maintained his level in the second, sealing the win with a crisp backhand pass to close out a 6-2, 6-3 performance.
The lone three-set match came at No. 4, where
Andrew Chong battled hard but ultimately fell in a narrow third-set tiebreak, 10-8.
After the match, Eph head coach
Dan Greenberg praised the team's effort: "Hamilton came out firing today, but we did a great job of staying solid, especially to get the point at #1 doubles. Singles-wise, I love how we bounced back from yesterday's match, because I know we didn't have a lot left in the tank. But every guy played tough singles and didn't let their opponents get a foot in the door, even though the Continentals brought a lot of offense."
The Ephs will now turn their attention to a solid week of training before hitting the road to take on Bates on Saturday, March 15, at noon in Lewiston, Maine..
Doubles:
- Berdia/Chen (WIL) def. Anderson/Korwar (HAM) 7-6 (5)
- Volkema/Chong (WIL) def. Aadamsoo/Mendieta (HAM) 6-4
- Chavez/Sternberg (HAM) def. Cooper/Liu (WIL) 6-3
Singles:
- Chen (WIL) def. Anderson (HAM) 6-0, 6-3
- Berdia (WIL) def. Mendieta (HAM) 7-6 (6), 6-3
- Volkema (WIL) def. Korwar (HAM) 6-3, 6-3
- Aadamsoo (HAM) def. Chong (WIL) 4-6, 6-2, 10-8
- Ling (WIL) def. Sternberg (HAM) 6-3, 6-1
- Marin (WIL) def. Feldman (HAM) 6-2, 6-3
