CLAREMONT, Calif.
The Bowdoin College men’s tennis team mounted a dramatic rally, but came up just short in a 5-3 loss to Middlebury in the NCAA Division III Championship match on Wednesday afternoon.
The Polar Bears finished a phenomenal season with a record of 23-2 as the Panthers were able to get revenge for a loss in the NESCAC title match to Bowdoin and end the year with a mark of 25-4.
The teams traded convincing doubles wins — Middlebury taking an 8-3 win at No. 3 from Peter Martin/Tim van der Geest and Bowdoin replying with an 8-4 win at No. 2 courtesy of Jerry Jiang and Kyle Wolfe.
In what proved to be a pivotal match in the course of the entire contest, Bowdoin’s Luke Tercek and Grant Urken trailed 6-2 at No. 1 doubles only to rally to 8-8 and force a tiebreak against Middlebury’s Lubomir Cuba and Kyle Schlanger. Cuba and Schlanger took control in the tiebreak, winning 7-2 and giving the Panthers a key 2-1 lead heading into singles play.
Middlebury appeared ready to run away with the title as singles play began, getting quick straight-set wins from Cuba (6-4, 6-2) and Andre Xiao (6-1, 6-4) to take a 4-1 lead.
Gil Roddy stemmed the tide for Bowdoin, closing the gap to 4-2 with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles.
Down a set, Jiang fended off championship point, broke serve and forced a third set at No. 4 singles, just as Tercek closed out a 6-0, 3- 6, 6-1 win to close Middlebury’s lead to 4-3.
Down a set at No. 3, Wolfe also forced a third set, rallying from a 6-3 loss in the opening set to win 7-5 in the second. Early in the third set, the tide seemed to have turned as Jiang led 3-2 at No. 4 and Wolfe led 3-1 at No. 3.
However, Middlebury’s Kyle Schlanger shook off an injury timeout early in the third set and rallied to storm past Jiang, winning four consecutive games to clinch the title for Middlebury.
Wolfe was tied 5-5 with de Quant in the third set when the match finished.
Bowdoin’s 23 wins established a school record for wins in a campaign. The three-man senior class of Tercek, Wolfe and Roddy cemented themselves as the best class in school history, ending their careers with a 79-16 record, two NESCAC championships and the 2016 Division III title.
Urken and Tercek will compete as a doubles team and as individuals in the NCAA Individual Championships beginning today in Claremont.
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