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The 2004 men's tennis team will look to continue its streak of NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, as the 2003 team earned its fourth consecutive NCAA berth, the most ever by a Bates men's team. The streak ties the women's basketball team's streak of four-in-a-row, set from 1997-2000. Head coach Paul Gastonguay, the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Coach of the Year in 2001, guided his team to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament this past season, the team's best finish since 1995. The Bobcats play in the most competitive Division III region and posted wins nationally ranked Tufts and MIT.
The top returnee is NESCAC Rookie of the Year William Boe-Wiegaard '06 (Georgetown, Conn.), the defending NESCAC No. 1 singles champion. After starting the season at No. 2, he played in Bates' first dual-match at No. 1 and lost to one of the best players in the country. Boe-Wiegaard posted a 7-3 record in dual matches at No. 1. He participated at the Individual Championships and finished in the top 16 after winning his opening match. Boe-Wiegaard, Bates' third tennis All-American, finished as the 19th-ranked player according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Gastonguay did lose No. 2 Alex Macdonald, No. 3 Brett Carty and No. 5 David Meyer to graduation, but three others return to form a good nucleus for the upcoming season. Sam Duvall '05 (Mt. Washington, Ky.) and Blake Wayman '05 (Concord, N.H.) will be counted on to win key matches all year. Doubles teams will have to be reformed, but Gastonguay has plenty of talent to choose from. Tristan Beach '06 (Grand Rapids, Mich.) won his match at No. 6 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tennis success at Bates is nothing new. Bud Schultz ’81, the College’s first tennis All-American, went on to become one of the world’s top 40 players. Schultz led his team at Bates to a third-place finish at the NCAA team tournament. Gastonguay followed Schultz’s lead to a world ranking in singles and doubles. The Bobcats' 1996 squad holds the single-season record for wins and made the team's first trip to the NCAA championships. Two members of that team, Mark Erelli '96 and Jeff Poleshek '96, made appearances in the 1995 NCAA individual tournament.
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