The Polar Bears ended the season yesterday with a solid win against the University of Southern Maine 8-1, finishing 11-5 (5-3 NESCAC). Last weekend, the team had a game on each day of the weekend, downing MIT 8-1 on Friday but falling to Williams and Amherst.
Williams is ranked No. 7 in the nation, Amherst is No. 5, and Bowdoin is No. 11.
Doubles play started off strongly against MIT last Friday, with first-year Oscar Pena and Jamie Neely '10 winning 8-3 at the No. 1 position, Stephen Sullivan '11 and Alex Caughron '09 winning 8-2 at the No. 2 position, and Tyler Anderson '10 and Alex White '09 rolling 8-0 over their opponents.
Singles play was solid, with Sullivan, Pena, Caughron, and Neely all notching extra points for the Polar Bears. Sullivan owned his opponent 6-0, 6-0, at the No. 1 position.
Pena pulled out a three-set win 6-3, 5-7, 11-9 at the No. 2 position. Josh Cranin '12, Caughron, and Neely all won at the No. 5, 3, and 6 positions, respectively, with White ceding a tough match to MIT.
The Polar Bears started off strong against Williams the following day, posting wins at the No.1 and 2 doubles positions.
The new doubles combos put together by Coach Colin Joyner midway through the season was worked very well. Singles play against Williams was much rougher, however, with Sullivan '11, Pena '12, and Anderson losing in straight sets at the No. 1, 2, and 3 positions. Senior co-captains Caughron '09 and White each lost tough three-setters, and Cranin notched the sole win for the Polar Bears at the No. 6 position.
Though the team won two out of three doubles matches against both Williams and Middlebury in the past, Coach Joyner said that it was not a reliable indicator of singles play.
"Singles and doubles play is completely different," said Joyner. "I'm happy with how our doubles team has been performing."
The match against Amherst on Sunday, though close, swung to the opponent 8-1. Amherst won all three doubles matches, though the No. 2 (Caughron '09 with Sullivan '11) and No. 3 (White '09 and Anderson '10) matches were close.
The full singles lineup was missing as Anderson sat out with a back injury. "Hopefully I'll have a fast recovery," he said.
Sullivan (No. 1), Pena (No. 2), White (No.3), and Cranin (No. 6) were all knocked out in straight sets. White dropped a tough three-setter at the No. 4 position, while Neely rallied after losing the first-set to notch the single point for Bowdoin.
After demolishing USM yesterday, Sullivan remains optimistic going into play-off season.
"We've had some close matches, and also some unlucky matches. I'm confident we can rally together during the playoffs," he said.
The Polar Bears await seeding for the playoffs.