MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - The Bowdoin College men's tennis team came within a pair of tiebreakers of defeating Middlebury on Saturday, but the Panthers survived for a 5-3 win in the NESCAC Semifinals on Saturday.

The Polar Bears drop to 14-5 with the loss and are likely to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when selections are announced on Monday. The Panthers move to 17-3 and will play for the NESCAC title on Sunday.

Middlebury looked to gain a commanding edge in doubles play, winning the first two matches and leading in the third at #3. But Bowdoin's Noah Bragg and Kyle Wolfe rallied for a 9-8 win in the tiebreaker to cut the Panther lead to 2-1 heading into singles.

Bowdoin looked to close the gap in singles play, getting victories from Gil Roddy (6-4, 7-5) at #6 and Chase Savage (6-4, 1-6, 6-2) at #4. The Polar Bears took the opening set at both #3 with Kyle Wolfe and #5 with Luke Tercek and both first-years had a chance to win their respective matches in second-set tiebreakers. But Middlebury rallied to take both tiebreakers and clinched the match at #3 as Palmer Campbell took a 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 win over Wolfe.