BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College men's tennis team dispatched Amherst on Friday morning, 5-1, to earn a trip to the NESCAC Semifinals. The fifth-seeded Polar Bears (17-6) advance to face top-seeded Middlebury at 9:00 a.m. Saturday at Amherst.
 
Match Highlights

• The Polar Bears avenged a regular season home loss to the Mammoths on April 7 with a decisive win in Friday's matchup.
• Bowdoin took a win at number one singles from Reid Staples/Tristan Bradley (8-4) and then Pieter Breuker/Andrew Mendelson rallied from a 6-5 deficit at number three to take an 8-6 win and give the Polar Bears a 2-1 edge heading to singles.
• Needing three wins to advance, Bowdoin quickly put two on the board thanks to straight-set wins from Mark Kneiss (6-4, 6-3), and Mendelson (7-5, 6-2).
• In a race to the finish at positions five and three, Ethan Bradley bounced his opponent (6-4, 3-6, 6-2) before Pieter Breuker could win a second set tiebreaker to give Bowdoin the clincher.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will battle the Panthers at 9:00 a.m. Saturday at Amherst in the latest edition of one of Division III's best tennis rivalries. Middlebury took the regular season meeting between the teams last weekend in Vermont, 6-3.