Courtesy Williams Sports Information

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  - Middlebury secured itself a spot in the finals of the 2009 NESCAC Men's Tennis Championship after a 5-1 win over Bowdoin on Saturday morning at Williams College. The Panthers are looking to regain the conference crown after winning four consecutive titles from 2004 to 2007.

The Panthers defeated the Polar Bears, 6-3, in the regular season and continued where they left off in this afternoon’s contest. Middlebury took a 2-1 advantage into singles play with two routine doubles wins at courts two and three. Bowdoin’s Oscar Pena and Jamie Neely managed to take a win at court one with an 8-5 defeat of Middlebury’s Farah and Thompson.

The middle of the lineup cruised to two quick victories for Middlebury. Andrew Lee and Andrew Peters took straight set decisions at courts three and four, with Lee winning over Tyler Anderson by a 6-1, 6-4 result and Peters taking his match over Alex Caughron by a 6-1, 6-1 score. Andrew Thompson picked up the fifth point after a 7-5, 6-1 defeat over Pena.

Middlebury will face off against Amherst tomorrow at 9:00 for a NESCAC championship. Amherst defeated Williams, 5-0, to advance to the conference finals.

No. 1 Middlebury 5, vs. No. 4 Bowdoin 1

Doubles
1 - Oscar Pena/Jamie Neely (Bowdoin) def. David Farah/Andrew Thompson (Middlebury) - 8-5
2 - Rich Bonfiglio/Andrew Lee (Middlebury) def. Stephen Sullivan/Alex Caughron (Bowdoin) - 8-2
3 - Conrad Olson/Andrew Peters (Middlebury) def. Alex White/Tyler Anderson (Bowdoin) - 8-3

Singles
1 - Conrad Olson (Middlebury) vs. Stephen Sullivan (Bowdoin) - 7-5, 1-1 DNF
2 - Andrew Thompson (Middlebury) def. Oscar Pena (Bowdoin) - 7-5, 6-1
3 - Andrew Lee (Middlebury) def. Alex Caughron (Bowdoin) - 6-1, 6-4
4 - Andrew Peters (Middlebury) def. Alex White (Bowdoin) - 6-1, 6-1
5 - Jamie Neely (Bowdoin) vs. Peter Odell (Middlebury) - 6-2, 4-6
6 - Josh Cranin (Bowdoin) vs. Derrick Angle (Middlebury) - 6-0, 4-3 DNF