Brunswick, ME – Less than 24 hours after a strong team win over Colby, the Ephs were back on court in Brunswick for another important NESCAC match up, this time against Bowdoin. On the indoor courts at Bowdoin, Williams came out strong in doubles and continued to battle deep into singles, but ultimately fell 7–0 to a sharp Bowdoin squad.
The doubles point featured some of the tightest tennis of the day. On Court 1,
Nicholas Chen and
Shawn Berdia got the Ephs on the board first with a steady 6–4 win, navigating early pressure and closing strong. Over on Court 2,
Simon Volkema and
Leon Liu dropped a close set to Bowdoin's Kneiss and Codd, 6–3, leveling the overall score. That left the doubles point hanging in the balance on Court 3. First-years
Diego Marin and
Jack Ling were locked in a back-and-forth battle, with both sides earning, and saving, multiple set points in a high-stakes tiebreak. Ultimately, Bowdoin pulled through 14–12 to secure the doubles point.
In singles, the Polar Bears carried that momentum into the opening sets. Marin was first off the court on Court 6, falling 6–2, 6–0 to Garapati. On Court 1, Chen worked hard to recover after his first set, but Kneiss stayed in control on big points and took the match 6–0, 6–4. Ling followed on Court 5, coming up just short in a tight first set before falling 7–6 (2), 6–4 to give Bowdoin the clinching fourth point.
Despite the match being decided, the Ephs continued to fight across the remaining courts.
On Court 4, Liu came out fast, taking the opening set 6–2 with consistent depth and smart point construction. But Bowdoin's Zia responded well, adjusting his strategy and flipping the momentum to take the next two sets 6–4, 6–1. Volkema, on Court 3, also went the distance. After dropping the first set 6–4, he found his rhythm in the second, winning it 6–3. The third set stayed close, but Codd made a late push to take it 6–3 and extend Bowdoin's lead.
On Court 2, Berdia capped off the afternoon with one of the day's grittiest matches. He dominated the opening set 6–0, but Breuker responded with improved depth and movement in the second. The third set saw long, physical rallies and pressure moments on both sides. Berdia held tough, but Breuker edged it 7–5 to close out the match.
While the final score didn't go in Williams' favor, the team showed resilience across the board, with three matches going to deciding sets and all six singles players putting in determined efforts.
"We were right there in doubles, and I thought our guys competed really well," stated Eph head coach
Dan Greenberg. "We're going to be in every match we play this season." "Now we just need to work on digging deeper and going into an extra gear when we get our opportunities."
The Ephs now stand at 5–5 overall and 3–2 in the NESCAC. They'll return home this week and look forward to hosting Connecticut College on Saturday, April 12 at 2 PM.
Doubles:
- Chen/Berdia (WIL) def. Breuker/Garapati (BOW) 6-4
- Kneiss/Codd (BOW) def. Liu/Volkema (WIL) 6-3
- Dorros/Tamas (BOW) def. Marin/Ling (WIL) 7-6 (12)
Singles:
- Kneiss (BOW) def. Chen (WIL) 6-0, 6-4
- Breuker (BOW) def. Berdia (WIL) 0-6, 6-2, 7-5
- Codd (BOW) def. Volkema (WIL) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
- Zia (BOW) def. Liu (WIL) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
- Mendelson (BOW) def. Ling (WIL) 7-6 (2), 6-4
- Garapati (BOW) def. Marin (WIL) 6-2, 6-0
