BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College men's tennis team advanced to the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals for the second straight season, defeating Williams in a regional final on Sunday afternoon, 5-3.
The Polar Bears (21-6) will advance to play Case Western in the national quarterfinals in St. Louis, Mo., on Tuesday, May 21. The Ephs (16-5) see their season come to an end in the third round to the Polar Bears for the second consecutive season.
Game Highlights
- The teams split the first two completed doubles matches, with Pieter Breuker/Andrew Mendelson earning an 8-6 win at number three for Bowdoin.
- In what proved to be a decisive point in the match, the number two duo of Ethan Bradley/Jackson Codd earned a 8-7 (7-5) tiebreak victory to give the Polar Bears a key 2-1 lead heading into singles play.
- Bowdoin quickly put two more points on the board as Mendelson worked over his opponent in a 6-1, 6-2 win at number six. Tristan Bradley followed with an impressive straight set 6-3, 6-4 win at number one.
- Williams got on the board with victories at number five and number two to close the gap to 4-3 with two remaining matches.
- Mark Kneiss lost the first set of his match on number four but slowly took complete command. After being down 5-1 in the opening set, Kneiss proceeded to win 14 of the final 15 games, stunning his opponent in a 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 win to send Bowdoin to the quarterfinals.
Up Next
- Bowdoin will face Case Western in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Tuesday, May 21 at 2:00 p.m. (ET). The Polar Bears will be making their eighth appearance in the quarterfinals overall (2002, '12, '16, 17, '18, '19, '23).
