BALTIMORE -- Allegheny College's postseason run came to an end on Saturday afternoon with a 4-0 loss against No. 7 Middlebury College in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Championships at Johns Hopkins University.
It marked the second consecutive season in which the Gators (21-7), ranked No. 71 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) polls, and the seventh-ranked Panthers (16-6) squared off in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Although Middlebury, a semifinalist in last year's championships, earned a shutout victory, Allegheny showed promise with a handful of competitive scores. AC faced an additional uphill battle with a shorthanded lineup, as seniors
Anton Hedlund (Hovas, Sweden/Katrinelundsgymnasiet) and
Will Jarvie (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) attended Saturday's commencement ceremonies back on campus.
First-year standout
Kristian Janci (Kysucké Nové Mesto, Slovakia/The British International School Shanghai) and Middlebury's Noah Laber were locked in an exciting back-and-forth showdown in the top singles match. Poised for an upset, Janci shocked the nation's seventh-ranked singles player and reigning ITA All-American with a 6-2 first-set win. Although their contest was unfinished, it remained tied in the third set when the Panthers earned the match-clinching point.
On the other end of the lineup card,
Olivier Erkens (Gouda, Netherlands/Coornhert Gymnasium) took six games in his No. 5 singles match with Hugh Hentschel. Fellow freshman
Arick Baldwin (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood) and Middlebury's Nikky Kondamuri were tied in the second set, 4-4, with Baldwin on the verge of forcing a third set.
Doubles Results
1. Thehan Wijemanne / Noah Laber def.
Levente Mihaly /
Benedek Kaibas, 6-3
2. Hugh Hentschel / Nikky Kondamuri def.
Arick Baldwin /
Kristian Janci, 6-2
3. Reif Larsen / Neel Epstein vs.
Olivier Erkens /
David Rodriguez, 5-2 (unfinished)
Singles Results
1.
Kristian Janci vs. Noah Laber, 6-2, 2-6, 1-1 (unfinished)
2. Neel Epstein def.
Levente Mihaly, 6-0, 6-0
3. Thehan Wijemanne def.
David Rodriguez, 6-1, 6-4
4. Noah Lewis vs.
Javier Bejarano Jimenez, 6-3, 3-2 (unfinished)
5. Hugh Hentschel def.
Olivier Erkens, 6-3, 6-3
6. Nikky Kondamuri vs.
Arick Baldwin, 7-5, 4-4 (unfinished)
