Ephs bounce back to defeat 17th-ranked Bowdoin, 8-1
BRUNSWICK, ME. – After suffering a setback last Wednesday in a disappointing loss to Trinity, men’s tennis bounced back in convincing fashion by beating the 17th ranked Bowdoin Polar Bears by a score of 8-1. The Ephs up their conference record to 6-1, and are now 14-2 on the season.
The fourth-ranked Ephs took a 2-1 lead into singles play. Although Bret Thacher and Dan Greenberg suffered their first loss together since playing a then 3rd ranked Washington University squad out West, Gary Simonette and Nick Lebedoff smothered their opponents in an 8-1 showing.
A competitive Bowdoin team brought their game in singles play, forcing each of the top four Williams players into three-set grinders. Karol Furmaga and Rick Devlin cruised to victories at courts five and six, while the rest of their teammates battled.
Both Greenberg and Jeremy Weinberger opened with strong first sets, only to drop the second set before clinching the match. Simonette dug himself out of a one set hole before putting away Bowdoin’s Jamie Neely, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2.
At court two, Lebedoff could not seem to avoid the breaker today, as he clinched the first set in a 7-4 tiebreak before falling in the second set tiebreaker, 8-6. He would eventually seal the victory, 7-6(4), 6-7(8-6), 6-3.
“For us to sweep the singles matches was pretty impressive,” said Williams head coach David Donn. “We [Williams] really played well, and to win each of the three setters shows that we are in good physical condition, and are winning the big points.”
Williams will face off against Bates tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.
Williams 8, Bowdoin 1
Doubles:
1) Garrett Gates/Alex Caughron (B) def. Dan Greenberg/Bret Thacher (W) --- 8-4
2) Gary Simonette/Nick Lebedoff (W) def. Jamie Neely/Stephen Sullivan (B) --- 8-1
3) Jeremy Weinberger/Rick Devlin (W) def. Alex White/Tyler Anderson (B) --- 8-5
Singles:
1) Greenberg (W) def. Gates (B) --- 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
2) Lebedoff (W) def. Sullivan (B) --- 7-6(4), 6-7(8-6), 6-3
3) Simonette (W) def. Neely (B) --- 5-7, 6-0, 6-2
4) Weinberger (W) def. Caughron (B) --- 6-1, 5-7, 6-1
5) Karol Furmaga (W) def. White (B) --- 6-3, 6-4
6) Rick Devlin (W) def. Tyler Anderson (B) --- 6-1, 6-2
