All-American Stephen Sullivan '11 continued to shine this past weekend, winning the Middlebury Invitational. Sullivan defeated players from Vassar, Colby, Williams, and Bates, ultimately overpowering Ben Stein of Bates 6-4, 6-2 to clinch the title.
"I was thrilled to win this weekend because it gives me great confidence going into ITA's, which is the most important tournament of the fall," Sullivan said. "I was glad to play Ben Stein and Andy Peters in the later rounds because it gave me a chance to see some of the better players in the NESCAC that I hadn't played before."
"The highlight of the weekend was Stephen Sullivan winning his second straight A-Flight singles invitational," Andrew Won '12 said. "Now Stephen is the sure favorite for this weekend's ITA."
Won also proved strong, placing as runner-up in D-Flight singles. Although Won was encouraged by his performance, the experience at Middlebury has given him more motivation.
"I was ecstatic to have gotten that far, but I would honestly have to say that getting to the finals was an overall bittersweet experience for me," Won said. "Although second place is an accomplishment in itself, I realized last weekend that I needed to work even harder on my game."
"Watching players like our very own ace Stephen Sullivan in competition really humbled me," Won added. "I want to compete at that level and be a reliable player for my team."
Overall, the team performed well on the court.
"The team definitely showed why we were NESCAC champions last year with our solid play," Won said. All of the singles matches were close, and the losses ended in third-set superbreakers.
"In singles, I wouldn't say there were any disappointments this weekend," Sullivan added. "We had a couple people in the finals and some in the consolation finals of their appropriate flights."
Alex Caughron '09 won the consolation bracket of the B-Flight singles, and Oscar Pena '12 clinched the A-Flight singles consolation.
The team looks forward to ITA New England Regional Championships this weekend at Williams where it hopes to continue its dominance.
In the long run, the team has lofty aspirations.
"We have made it our goal to discipline ourselves by fitting in maybe some two-a-days and agility and weight training on our road to a foreseeable national title," Won said.