Panthers Run Streak to Four With Win at Hope International

Aleksandr Samets picked up his first win of the year at No. 3 singles on Wednesday.

The Middlebury men's tennis team increased its winning streak to four with a 7-2 victory on Wednesday at NAIA foe Hope International at the Fullerton Tennis Center. The fourth-ranked Panthers improve to 9-1 and return to the courts on Thursday for a 2:30 p.m. match against Division I opponent UC San Diego.

The Panthers took all three doubles points against the Royals (5-9) who competed with just five players. After the hosts defaulted at No. 3, the Panther tandem of William de Quant and Nate Eazor picked up the second point with an 8-3 victory in the top spot over Kyle Rae and Sergio Romero. Timo van der Geest and Peter Martin completed the sweep with an 8-4 win over Antoine Voisin and Jayke Ancheta in the second flight.

During singles action, the fourth point came when the Royals lost via a default at No. 6. Thorne Gregory clinched the match for the Panthers with a 7-5, 6-1 win in the fifth position over Ancheta.

Hope International got on the board with a straight-set win atop the lineup. Aleksandr Samets tallied his first victory of the season for the Panthers via 6-2, 6-0 triumph at No. 3 over Romero, while Adam Guo made it 7-1 in favor of the Panthers with a 6-3, 6-2 win in the second position over Voisin.

The Royals scored their second point of the match with a victory at No. 3.