Men’s tennis (2-2, 2-1 NESCAC) took home a decisive win in its first away match of the season, against the Bates Bobcats. The Ephs beat the Bobcats (3-6, 1-2 NESCAC) by a commanding 6-1 margin.
The indoor facility at Bates is notorious for being tricky to play on, according to Shawn Berdia ’25. The surface of the courts is carpet-like, he noted, making them extra slippery. “It’s a big adjustment coming from the courts we normally play on,” he said in an interview with the Record.
“The ball speeds up after it bounces, so a lot of times you have to prepare really early,” Nicholas Chen ’26 added. “It’s really tough to play and move on, because of the surface.”
During the doubles matches that started the day, the adjustment to the novel surface proved difficult for the Ephs. “It was definitely a rough start at the beginning because going from practice to matches on a new surface is very different,” Chen said.
Nevertheless, as the day progressed, the Ephs gained ground, ultimately winning two of their three doubles matches, with Berdia and Chen winning their match 7-5, and Bobby Cooper ’28 and Leon Liu ’27 winning theirs on a tiebreak, 7-6 (5).
During the tiebreak, Cooper hit a monster serve. “I was really proud of Bobby, he clutched up in doubles,” Liu said. “We were down 3-0 in the tiebreak, and then brought it up to 6-5. When he was serving, [there was] a radar gun on court, and he blasted a huge serve, his biggest-ever hit, 152 miles an hour, and it got us the doubles point.”
In addition to the challenge presented by the playing surface, the Ephs also had an unusual coaching setup: Assistant Coach Andrew Dorr filled in for Head Coach Dan Greenberg, who was not able to make it to Saturday’s matches.
Even with the coaching change, things went smoothly throughout the day. “[Dorr] was our acting coach for the whole match, which was different, but I think he did a great job, and we still got the job done,” Berdia said.
The Ephs did indeed get the job done once they took to the carpet-court again, winning five of six matches in singles play. Berdia and Chen both handed their opponents losses in straight sets.
Sports Information described Berdia’s performance as “nonchalant yet effective,” a characterization he told the Record was fair. Chen agreed, referencing a quote from tennis legend Roger Federer’s 2024 Dartmouth commencement address. “I would add on something that Federer said — that ‘Effortless is a myth,’” he said. “He is working hard, but for us, it seems effortless.”
Simon Volkema ’26 also secured a singles win in two sets, triumphing in a first-set tiebreak and then winning 6-4 in the second. Liu took three sets to put a bow on things, but won by a comfortable 6-2 margin in the third. Jack Ling ’28 also finished the deal in three sets, winning the last set in a ten-point tiebreak. Diego Marin ’28 also lost his singles in a one set tie-break.
While tiebreaks are not uncommon, they were unusually prevalent on Saturday, which Chen attributed to the court’s slippery conditions. “[The surface] made it a lot harder to break serve,” he said. “Given that [the ball] speeds up after [it] bounces, your return is generally not going to be as good.”
He also noted, though, that the extended matches could be a sign of early season growing-pains. “I would attribute some of the tiebreaks, to it being our first away match,” he said. “That’s kind of just adapting to the new surface and then still getting to the rhythm of playing against other schools. Because, for the past three months, we’ve been mostly playing against each other.”
Despite the tight competition, the Ephs closed out a 6-1 victory after singles play, wrapping up a successful first away weekend.
Next, the Ephs will head to California for a series of spring break games, beginning with a March 24 matchup against the Chapman University Panthers.
Liu noted that going on the road improves the team’s tennis skills and builds group chemistry. “I think we generally have a really tight-knit culture,” he said. “There are only nine of us, and that really helps us get closer with each other. And we have really good conversations. Since it’s two people to a room, it’s like just getting to know each other better off the court.”
