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Stein and Rupasinghe fall in NCAA doubles semifinals at Bates

Posted by: Andy Walter on May 18, 2008

Bates coach Paul Gastonguay (left) talks with All-America doubles pair Amrit Rupasinghe (center) and Ben Stein ’09 (right) during their NCAA semifinal match against Gustavus Adolphus. (Suzy Preston photos)

LEWISTON, Maine — Bates doubles pair Amrit Rupasinghe and Ben Stein were defeated in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Doubles Championship Sunday at Bates College, as Andy Bryan and Charlie Paukert of Gustavus Adolphus College prevailed by a 7-5, 6-4 score.

Kenyon sophomore Michael Greenberg (right) accepts his NCAA singles trophy from NCAA tennis committee member Gary Holden.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps’ doubles champions Larry Wang (left) and Guillaume Schils.

Stein and Rupasinghe pose with their semifinalists’ trophy.

Bates held serve on each game of the second set until the final one, when the Golden Gusties sealed the win by breaking Stein’s serve to advance to the finals.

Stein (Pelham, N.Y.) and Rupasinghe (Colombo, Sri Lanka) finish the year with a 22-10 record and the hard-earned distinction of becoming the fifth and sixth Bates men to become tennis All-Americans.

Meanwhile on Court 4 at Wallach Tennis Center, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps duo Guillaume Schils and Larry Wang defeated Southern California rivals Jared Kamel and Marc Vartabedian of UC Santa Cruz, the top seeds in the original 16-team field, in two set tiebreakers, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), in the rubber match between the two pairs this year.

CMS took the first set with relative ease, then appeared ready to turn the championship match into a rout, leaping out to a 5-0 lead in the second set. Gustavus Adolphus went on a run, however, to close the gap to 5-4 before Wang served the Stags to four straight points and the championship.

Kenyon sophomore wins singles title

Kenyon College sophomore Michael Greenberg defeated Middlebury College senior Filip Marinkovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Sunday at Bates College to capture the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Singles Championship.

Greenberg (Chapel Hill, N.C.) lost the first set as Marinkovic won five straight games to come back from a 3-1 deficit.

Marinkovic (Toronto, Ontario) struggled with his serve for most of the match, even dropping the first game of the second set on four consecutive double faults. But the gritty senior, who played more games and sets than any other player over the six days of the NCAA Championships, battled throughout. A fresher Greenberg prevailed, however, as the difference in energy level between the two players seemed increasingly evident as the match wore on.

Greenberg led 5-2 in the third set only to see Marinkovic get it back to 5-4. But the Canadian’s final collegiate volley traveled long, allowing Greenberg to exult with his, and Kenyon’s, first NCAA singles title.

Singles Championship Match
Michael Greenberg (Kenyon) def. Filip Marinkovic (Middlebury), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

Doubles Semifinal Matches
Charlie Paukert/Andy Bryan (Gustavus Adolphus) def. Ben Stein/Amrit Rupasinghe (Bates), 7-5, 6-4
Guillaume Schils/Larry Wang (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps) def. #1 Jared Kamel/Marc Vartabedian (UC Santa Cruz), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2)

Doubles Championship Match
Guillaume Schils/Larry Wang (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps) def. Charlie Paukert/Andy Bryan (Gustavus Adolphus), 6-3, 6-4

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