MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College men’s tennis team opened its spring season with an 8-1 victory on Saturday over visiting NESCAC foe Bates in the Nelson Recreational Center. Middlebury returns to action next Saturday at home against Brandeis at 1:30 p.m. The Panthers started the season ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division III, while Bates stood at No. 26.
During doubles play, the Bobcat No. 3 tandem of Josh Quijano and Josh Leiner grabbed the team’s lone point with an 8-4 victory over Middlebury’s Allen Jackson and Timo van der Geest. The Panther No. 1 flight of Lubomir Cuba and William de Quant evened the match at 1-1 via an 8-5 win over Ben Rosen and Chris Ellis, while the No. 2 doubles team of Kyle Schlanger and Peter Martin won, 9-7, against Pat Ordway and Jacob Kauppila.
In singles action, the Panthers dropped just one set in the six matches. At No. 4, van der Geest won, 6-1, 6-2, over Kauppila, while Schlanger prevailed at No. 3 against Quijano (6-1, 6-4). Cuba clinched the match at No. 1, 6-4, 6-2. against Rosen, while Jackson cruised at No. 5 over Vidyut Yadav (6-1, 6-1). At No. 2, de Quant needed a super breaker to get by Ellis (6-0, 6-7 (9), 10-8), while Alex Vanezis completed the scoring with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Leiner at No. 6.