WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Heading on the road for the first time in 2021, the No. 6 ranked Wesleyan men's tennis team was defeated by No. 10 Williams, 8-1, in a Top 10 matchup on Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan drops to 2-2 on the season and 1-2 in NESCAC West Division play while the Ephs' undefeated season continues at 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the NESCAC West.
NOTES:
- This represented the second meeting between the Little 3 rivals and the Ephs won by an identical 8-1 score as they did back on April 3
- Williams swept the doubles matches, something that didn't happen in the first meeting, as the Ephs went up 3-0 with wins by Arturo Kam and Calvin Chung at No. 1, Chase Cohen and Austin Barr at No. 2 and Noah Reich and Karan Amin at No. 3
- Singles play was littered with close contests as three of the six matches went into a third set tiebreaker
- After losing 6-2, 6-0 in their first matchup this season, Noah Lilienthal '22 gave Kam quite the battle at No. 1 singles with Kam taking the first set 6-4 before Lilienthal bounced back with a 6-2 second set win. In the third set tiebreak, Kam took control and won the match on his 10-5 tiebreak win
- The lone Wesleyan point on the day came at No. 5 singles as Ben Mitchell '24 locked up with Reich in an epic three-set dual as Mitchell took the first set 6-4 before Reich won the second set in a tiebreaker. The two then went on to a third set tiebreak where Mitchell prevailed in a close one, 10-7
- After missing the first meeting against Williams this season, Zach Fleischman '21 gave Chung quite the run at No. 3 singles as the senior Fleischman took the match to a third set tiebreak that lasted well over 15 minutes as both teams stood to watch the match end in a 16-14 Chung triumph
Doubles
- #1: Kam/Chung (WIL) def. Lilienthal/Mitchell (WES) 8-3
- #2: Cohen/Barr (WIL) def. Sweeney/Lieb (WES) 8-1
- #3: Reich/Amin (WIL) def. Fleischman/Portnoy (WES) 8-6
Singles
- #1: Kam (WIL) def. Lilienthal (WES) 6-4, 2-6, 10-5
- #2: Barr (WIL) def. Lieb (WES) 6-2, 6-3
- #3: Chung (WIL) def. Fleischman (WES) 1-6, 6-4, 16-14
- #4: Chen (WIL) def. Sweeney (WES) 6-2, 6-3
- #5: Mitchell (WES) def. Reich (WIL) 6-4, 6-7, 10-7
- #6: Amin (WIL) def. Portnoy (WES) 6-4, 6-2
UP NEXT:
The final match of the regular season for the Cardinals is slated for next weekend with a trip to Hamilton on Saturday, May 1.