MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College men’s tennis team opened its spring season by picking up a pair of 8-1 home victories against Colby and Brandeis in the Duke Nelson Recreation Center. Middlebury, ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division III, is off until March 23, when it plays during its spring break in Atlanta.
In the match against Colby, the doubles tandem of Brantner Jones and Palmer Campbell started things off with an 8-1 victory at No. 2. The No. 3 flight of Courtney Mountfield and Jackson Frons won, 8-2, before the Mules tallied their lone point in the No. 1 doubles match.
In singles, Campbell, the 18th-ranked player in the nation, won at No. 1 due to a retirement. Teddy Fitzgibbons picked up a win at No. 3 (6-1, 6-2), while Andrew Lebovitz grabbed the team’s fifth point at No. 5 (6-1, 6-2). The squad’s final three points came from Chris Frost (6-0, 6-1) at No. 6, Mountfield in three sets (7-6, 0-6, 11-9) at No. 2, and Zach Bruchmiller at No. 4 (6-7 (3), 6-4, 10-4).
Later in the day against Brandeis, the team of Alex Johnston and Lebovitz won by an 8-2 score in the top doubles flight. The Judges grabbed their lone point at No. 3, but Jones and Campbell gave the Panthers a 2-1 edge headed to singles play with an 8-4 win at No. 2.
Johnston was victorious at No. 1 (7-5, 6-1) while Ari Smolyar won his match for Middlebury at No. 3 (6-0, 6-3). Frons cruised in the fourth spot (6-0, 6-4), while Jones won a second-set tiebreaker (6-4, 7-6 (2)) at No. 2. The Panthers’ final two points for the day came in straight sets from Allen Jackson (6-3, 6-1) at No. 5 and Peter Heidrich (6-1, 6-2) in the sixth spot.