The men's tennis team finished its regular season in style, with two wins over rivals Trinity and Colby last weekend. On Friday, the 14th-ranked Polar Bears defeated the 15th-ranked Bantams 7-2 at Harvard. On the drive up from Cambridge Mass., the Polar Bears routed the Mules in Waterville 8-1.
The team is riding a four-game winning streak heading into the NESCAC tournament. Ranked 15th in the country, captain Stephen Sullivan '11 has continued his exceptional performance as he won his singles match against Trinity 6-0 and 6-1; at Colby, he won 6-1 and 6-1 in two sets. Sullivan and partner Oscar Pena '12 also won their doubles matches at Trinity and Colby.
"The matches went well," Sullivan said. "We expected ourselves to be dominant in the singles, but what really came through was our doubles. We have won the last 11 of our 12 doubles matches, which is surprising when you compare it to the beginning of the season."
"The team had a really long weekend which was especially difficult since it was Ivies," he added. "We were all itching to get back to campus so I'm happy that during our match we all kept our composure and accomplished our goal. There were tons of distractions and adversities that we overcame."
Casey Grindon '13 and Michael Power '11 netted two wins over the weekend as well. Chris Lord '14 and Sam King '14 also earned a pair of wins. In doubles play, the Polar Bears have turned their weakness into a strength.
Sullivan singled out Power for taking a leadership role on the team and becoming a role model for the other players.
"Bowdoin has dealt with a couple of injuries this year," Sullivan said. "We have needed someone to step in and take ownership of the missing positions. It's great that Michael Power has been able to step it up and take over the sixth spot for singles. He's a great player and he's getting better every match. I think he is going to give his opponents a tough match this weekend."
After their weekend matches and abbreviated Ivies, the Polar Bears drew Tufts for the first round of the NESCAC tournament. The last time these two teams met, the Bears won in an 8-1 decision.
"They are going to be tougher than the first time we played them," said Sullivan, "since they were missing their No. 1 players and they were playing on our own home indoor courts."
"If we win that, we play Amherst, [which] right now is the top team in the NESCAC," he added. "I think Bowdoin has a really good shot of taking them down. We lost all three doubles last time we played them and now we have finally figured out our doubles team."
The team faces the fifth-seeded Jumbos today at 9 a.m. at Middlebury.