Men’s tennis to meet Bowdoin in first-round NESCAC match

Posted by: Andy Walter on April 22, 2008

HADLEY, Mass. — Bates will meet Bowdoin Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. in the First Round of the 2008 NESCAC Men’s Tennis Championships, held at Middlebury College.

Fourth-seed Bowdoin (11-8, 6-3 NESCAC) will be meeting fifth-seed Bates (12-3 NCAA, 3-3 NESCAC) for the second time in less than a month. The winner will meet No. 1 seed Trinity in the semifinals Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

The most recent battle between the Route 196 rivals went to the Polar Bears on April 3 in Brunswick by a 5-4 score, as Bowdoin edged Bates 2-1 in doubles play before the two teams split the singles matches 3-3. Bowdoin Junior Garrett Gates (Fairway, Kan.), an All-NESCAC First Team Singles and Doubles selection a year ago, recovered from a first set deficit to upend Bates junior Ben Stein (Pelham, N.Y.), a Second Team honoree, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the No. 1 singles match. The Polar Bears have won seven of their last 10 matches; however, the three setbacks have come at the hands of the top three seeds in this year’s championship — Trinity, Middlebury and Williams. The Bobcats had a five-match winning streak snapped in their most recent outing, a 6-3 setback to Williams on April 20. During the 2007 championship, Bowdoin was upended in its lone match, a semifinal loss to Williams, while Bates last appeared in the NESCAC championship in 2006.

View the NESCAC 2008 Men’s Tennis Championship Preview Release (PDF)