The No. 1-ranked Emory men's tennis team saw its seven-match win streak come to an end on Saturday, falling to No. 6 Middlebury College in a contest that was played on the campus of Trinity College (CT). The Panthers won for the 16th time in 19 outings this year after posting a 7-2 decision over the Eagles who slipped to 14-3. It was Emory's first Division III loss in 13 matches.
Middlebury jumped out to a 3-0 lead after sweeping doubles. At No. 2, MC's Noah Farrell and William de Quant registered the first point of the match with an 8-1 verdict over Emory's Adrian Bouchet and Max Renke. After stretching their lead to 2-0 with winning at first doubles, the Panthers kept their momentum going as Timo van der Geest and Peter Martin claimed an 8-3 triumph over Jonathan Jemison and Hayden Cassone, snapping the Emory duo's win streak at 11 matches while dropping their season slate to 18-3.
In singles, Farrell put Middlebury one point from clinching the outcome with his 6-3, 6-2 win over Cassone at No. 2. At first singles, Lubomir Cuba gave the Panthers the win by bettering Jemison by a 7-5, 6-2 score. After seeing Middlebury win at Nos. 3 & 4, Emory registered its first point at No. 5 when senior Scott Rubinstein battled to a 6-0, 6-7, 10-4 decision over Nate Eazor. Playing at No. 6, junior James Spaulding came away with a 6-7, 7-6, 11-9 win over Andre Xiao for his 11th triumph against four setbacks this season.
Emory returns to action on Thursday (Apr. 26) when it plays a quarterfinal-round match in the University Athletic Association Championships in Altamonte Springs, Florida. The Eagles will enter the competition as three-time defending champs.