MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Bowdoin College men's tennis team carded a convincing 5-0 shutout of Bates in the opening round of the NESCAC Championship on Friday on the campus of Middlebury College. The 11^th-ranked and second-seeded Polar Bears improved to 14-3 with the win over seventh-seeded Bobcats and move on to face Williams in the conference semifinals Saturday.
 
Match Highlights

• As opposed to the regular season meeting between the teams two weeks ago, Bowdoin wasted little time dispatching Bates on Friday afternoon.
• The Polar Bears, sparked by a dominant 8-1 win from Tristan Bradley/Reid Staples at number one doubles, sprinted to a 3-0 lead thanks to victories from the duos of Ethan Bradley/Pieter Breuker and Evan Fortier/Mark Kneiss, as well.
• From there it was a matter of time, with Tristan Bradley (6-4, 6-1) and Reid Staples (6-0, 6-2) winning the race to finishing singles, clinching the team win for Bowdoin.
• Bowdoin was up a set in three of the other remaining four singles matches when play concluded.

Up Next

• Bowdoin faces Williams on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in a rematch of one of the Polar Bears' three losses from earlier this season (5-4 on March 15). Depending on weather, the matches will be either played outdoors at Williams or indoors at the Bennington Tennis Center.