Singles play leads Ephs into NCAA Quarters over TCNJ, 5-2
EWING, NJ – With a berth to the NCAA Quarterfinals at stake, Williams men’s tennis was not going to let a 2-1 hole after doubles play shake their morale. The Ephs came out in singles play, and did what they do best in individual play—win.
Eighth-ranked Williams defeated the seventeenth-ranked Lions of The College of New Jersey in a 5-2 result to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the twelfth consecutive year.
At court three, Jeremy Weinberger and Rick Devlin won a critical point for the Ephs upon defeating TCNJ’s Matt Pierson and Jonathon Yu by an 8-3 score. A 3-0 deficit would certainly been tougher to rebound from, as the Williams pairs at court one and two struggled.
Despite boasting a No. 8 regional doubles ranking, Nick Lebedoff and Gary Simonette fell at court two, 8-6. At court one, Dan Greenberg and Bret Thacher battled to a tiebreak but managed only one point to lose the match.
“We responded as well as we could to the doubles play,” said Williams head coach Dave Donn. “I never saw one guys head go down, which is easy to have happen especially the way we lost a doubles point in the tiebreak. We got right back into it and played very well in the singles.”
Greenberg and Lebedoff did not like the taste of losing, and bounced back in singles play with 6-1, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-0 wins respectively, while Weinberger and Devlin continued their winning ways. Devlin showed no mercy at court six, allowing his opponent only one game in a 6-1, 6-0 result. Weinberger defeated Roger Mosteller at court four, 6-4, 6-3.
Williams will face the winner of UC Santa Cruz and Claremont MS in a quarterfinal match at Bates College in Lewiston, ME on May 13.
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The Ephs are headed for
their 12th consecutive |
Williams 5, TCNJ 2
Doubles:
1) Michael Klimchak/Roger Mosteller (TCNJ) def. Dan Greenberg/Bret Thacher (W) --- 9-8 (7-1)
2) Jeremy Eckardt/Eric Ferriere (TCNJ) def. Nick Lebedoff/Gary Simonette (W) --- 8-6
3) Jeremy Weinberger/Rick Devlin (W) def. Matt Pierson/Jonathon Yu (TCNJ) --- 8-3
Singles:
1) Greenberg (W) def. Klimchak (TCNJ) --- 6-1, 6-2
2) Lebedoff (W) def. Ferriere (TCNJ) --- 6-4, 6-0
3) Simonette (W) led Eckardt (TCNJ) --- 7-5, 5-0 DNF
4) Weinberger (W) def. Mosteller (TCNJ) --- 6-4, 6-3
5) Karol Furmaga (W) led Matt Pierson (TCNJ) --- 5-7, 6-2, 1-0
6) Devlin (W) def. Yu (TCNJ) --- 6-1, 6-0
