Bennington, VT – On a busy Senior/Alumni Weekend, the Ephs opened with a strong performance, taking down Trinity 6–1 on Saturday afternoon at the Bennington Tennis Center. Playing with confidence from the first ball, Williams controlled the match in both doubles and singles to pick up an important NESCAC win heading into the final day of the regular season.
Doubles action set the tone early.
Jack Ling and
Diego Marin got the Ephs on the board quickly with a dominant 6–1 win on Court 3. On Court 1,
Nicholas Chen and
Shawn Berdia kept the momentum going, but Trinity's Garbati and Ginter pulled through 6–4 to even the doubles matches at one apiece. It came down to Court 2, where
Andrew Chong and
Simon Volkema stayed composed in the big moments and secured a tight 6–4 win to clinch the doubles point for Williams.
In singles, Williams kept the pressure on. Trinity got a point on Court 6, where
Andrew Chong was forced to retire after building a 5–4 lead. But the Ephs responded quickly.
Diego Marin wrapped up a strong performance on Court 5 with a 6–0, 6–2 win to put the Ephs ahead 2-1.
Simon Volkema followed with a convincing 6–1, 6–3 win on Court 3, keeping rallies clean and dictating with his forehand. On Court 1,
Nicholas Chen bounced back after a tough first-set tiebreak, stepping up his aggression to win 6–7 (4), 6–2, 6–1.
Jack Ling won his match shortly after, with a steady 6–3, 6–3 win on Court 4, using consistent depth to wear down his opponent.
The final match on Court 2 saw Berdia close out a strong day for Williams. Playing disciplined, aggressive tennis, he finished off a 6–2, 6–1 win to push the final score to 6–1 in favor of the Ephs.
It was a complete effort across the lineup, with strong doubles play and steady singles performances helping Williams secure their eighth win of the season.
After the match, Eph head coach
Dan Greenberg was proud of the guys, saying: "Our guys competed well today against a tenacious team and got stronger and stronger as the match wore on. We'll look to keep that going against Wesleyan tomorrow."
With the win, Williams improves to 8–6 overall and 6–3 in NESCAC play. The Ephs will return to action tomorrow, Sunday, April 27 at 2 PM, with a home match against Wesleyan to close out the regular season.
Doubles:
- Garbati/Ginter (TC) def. Berdia/Chen (WIL) 6-4
- Volkema/Chong (WIL) def. Rutledge/Nelson (TC) 6-4
- Ling/Marin (WIL) def. Edstrom/Carlsson (TC) 6-1
Singles:
- Chen (WIL) def. Garbati (TC) 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1
- Berdia (WIL) def. Edstrom (TC) 6-2, 6-1
- Volkema (WIL) def. Nelson (TC) 6-1, 6-3
- Ling (WIL) def. Park (TC) 6-3, 6-3
- Marin (WIL) def. Carlsson (TC) 6-0, 6-2
- Ginter (TC) def. Chong (WIL) 4-5 ret.
