CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – In a thrilling match that went late into Friday evening,
Noah Lilienthal '22 and
Ben Mitchell '24 of the Wesleyan men's tennis team finished off an upset of No. 3 seeded Scott Altmeyer and Abhi Ramireddy of Washington University to advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2021 NCAA Doubles Tournament.
In what was their first match since May 9, the Cardinals' top doubles team showed no signs of rust as they combined on a huge upset of one of the top-ranked doubles teams in the nation. The opening set went into a deciding tiebreak which saw Lilienthal and Mitchell come away with a tight 7-5 win to claim the early advantage. Altmeyer and Ramireddy, who just helped lead Washington Univ. to a national semifinal in the team bracket, responded with a 6-4 second set victory. With one set left to decide the match, Lilienthal and Mitchell bore down and defeated the Bears' top duo, 6-4.
With the win, Wesleyan's pairing advances to the national quarterfinal round where a matchup against Will Leach and Luke Lemaitre of George Fox awaits. Lilienthal is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament as he was a 2019 national runner-up in doubles, pairing with
Adrian Roji '21 and advancing all the way to the title match. The win also secures All-American honors for Lilienthal and Mitchell.
Lilienthal also competed in the NCAA Singles bracket for the first time in his career on Friday. In his opening round matchup against Marcos Dias of Southern Virginia, Lilienthal won the opening set decisively at 6-2 but Dias went on to dominate the remainder of play, winning the final two sets 6-2, 6-1 to take the victory.
Lilienthal and Mitchell are back in action on Saturday with a 4:30 PM start against Leach and Lemaitre with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
