Last weekend the men’s tennis team competed in its final event for the fall season, the James Wallach Invitational tournament hosted by Bates College.
Highlights of the doubles events included performances by the Judges pairs in the ‘A’ flight. The pair of Alec Siegel ’15 and Mitch Krems ’16 reached the finals of the ‘A’ flight. Top-seeded captains Josh Jordan ’13 and Steven Milo ’13 also competed in the flight, but lost in the quarterfinals.
For Krems and Siegel, reaching the finals was something special.
“Advancing to the ‘A’ flight in doubles was a ton of fun,” Siegel said. “It was a great feeling knowing that my partner and I could compete with some of the best doubles teams in New England, if not the country.”
While the doubles events were underway, “We had the majority of our team there cheering us on and it felt great to put on a show for them and our coaches,” Siegel added.
Jordan and Milo started strong, winning their first match 8-6. In the second round of doubles, they faced a surprising upset at the hands of duo Casey Grindon and Noah Bragg from Bowdoin.
The Judges were not the only team to face an upset. After defeating the pair of Jugal Marfatia and Jordan Kemp from Trinity College 9-7, Siegel and Krems knocked out the fourth-seeded pair of Oliver Loutsenko and Danny Knight from Skidmore. After defeating Skidmore, they faced Peter Heidrich and Chris Frost from Middlebury—a pair that had just defeated the second-seed Kyle Wostencroft and Doug Caplan from Bowdoin. With a 9-8 victory over the pair from Middlebury, Siegel and Krems advanced to the finals of the ‘A’ flight, facing the third-seed, Matt Bettles and Pierre Planche from Bates.
Both Siegel and Krems listed the same qualities of their pairing as factors in their success.
“We both have all-court games and play an aggressive style of doubles,” Krems said.
Siegel added that in addition to the aggressive mindset, “We understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses pretty well.”
While the pair from Bates won the match 8-2, the strong showing at the end of the fall season is an uplifting preview for the spring season. Siegel commented, “Luck is always a factor but I’d like to think we played a level of tennis that we are certainly capable of. We [have] established a name for ourselves as a force in doubles for sure,” Siegel said.
Krems added, “Overall the team has demonstrated great potential this fall and will hopefully carry through to the spring season.”
As exciting as the doubles competition was, the team struggled in singles. One member of the Judges’ squad advanced past the first round of singles: Evan Berner ’14 won his first match in the ‘D’ flight against Jesse Butler from Bates in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. In the second round, however, Peter Davis of Bowdoin defeated Berner in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.
With the end of the Wallach Invitational, the men’s tennis team does not face competition until February when its spring season begins.
While doubles enters the hiatus strong, Siegel summarized, “Singles wise, we have a lot to improve on, but I can’t wait for the spring season to build on a solid fall.”
