Although Williams ended the men's tennis team's nine-match winning streak—its longest in over a decade—Bowdoin remains one of the top teams in the conference heading into postseason play this weekend. The Polar Bears are now ranked No. 9 in the country after losing a tough 5-4 battle against Williams on Saturday, coming off a definitive 8-1 win against Colby last Friday.
Alex Jacobs '12—who won at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles against Colby—said he was optimistic for the weekend and noted that the team has recently matured.
Bowdoin played a new lineup against Colby, which Jacobs said led to "a good chance for different guys to gain experience and compete," giving the Polar Bears momentum for their match against No. 3 Williams.
Playing with its regular lineup against the Ephs, Jacobs said that Bowdoin "had a chance to convert on a couple matches and take the lead but couldn't come through in the end. I think we saw how we stack up against them and can take a lot away in preparation for possibly playing them again this weekend."
Noah Bragg '15 stood out for Bowdoin last weekend, winning at No. 2 singles 6-1 and 6-3 on Friday before fighting to a 7-5, 3-6, 11-9 victory at No. 5 singles on Saturday against a strong Williams player that has frequently beaten Bowdoin in the past. According to Jacobs, Bragg "set the tone of effort and hustle that our team works towards."
Up next for the Polar Bears (11-6) is the NESCAC championship. After beating Trinity 6-1 a month ago, third-seeded Bowdoin will play the sixth-seeded Bantams today in the opening round for the third time in four years.
"We have a very good chance of beating Trinity based on our success in the regular season against them," Jacobs said. "We're fired up with the chance to show that we are the top NESCAC team this year."
-Compiled by Liv King.