Coming off the toughest defeat of the year against Middlebury, the men's tennis team faced University of Southern Maine and NESCAC rival Williams (7-4 overall, 4-1 NESCAC) last weekend. Bowdoin prevailed without losing a match, trouncing USM.
The match against USM gave starters a chance to rest before playing Williams on Saturday and allowed other players to jump into the lineup. The Polar Bears proved to be too strong, defeating the Huskies 9-0.
"We came out firing and were able to beat USM decisively," said junior Michael Power. "The doubles started out strong taking a 3-0 lead and set the tone for singles play."
Power improved his dual match record to 8-0 for his career.
The competition against USM started the weekend on a high note for Bowdoin. However, once the Williams match began, the team's mood changed. The Ephs entered the contest needing a win to give themselves a chance at qualifying for the NCAA tournament.
Williams started off well against Bowdoin, taking two out the three doubles matches. Bowdoin's lone doubles victory came as No. 1. senior captain Jamie Neely and junior Stephen Sullivan teamed up to defeat the Ephs 8-1. However, No. 2 and No. 3 doubles were a different story. Williams defeated Bowdoin 8-6 at No. 2 doubles and 8-4 at No. 3 doubles, giving them a 2-1 advantage.
Entering singles play, Williams carried the momentum over from their doubles performance. Despite a strong effort from Bowdoin at No. 1 and No. 4 singles, Williams won the remaining four matches without dropping a set. Ultimately the Ephs defeated Bowdoin 7-2 leaving the Polar Bears disappointed with their effort.
Neely came out of the match against Williams with two victories. Following the doubles victory with Sullivan, Neely defeated William Petrie of Williams easily with a straight set victory.
"I was happy to play well on Saturday but it doesn't mean anything unless the team comes out with a victory," Neely said. "We were very disappointed by the final outcome of the match because we went into it expecting a win. Hopefully we can turn around our performance in time for NESCACs."
Bowdoin will close out the regular season on Friday at home against Bates College. Closing the regular season against Bates, the Polar Bears would like to end on a positive note heading into the conference tournament.