The Amherst men’s tennis team faced off against Bowdoin and Bryant University this past weekend, April 8-9.

On Saturday, April 8, the Polar Bears traveled to Amherst, defeating the Mammoths in a close 5-4 match.

On Sunday, the Mammoths returned ready to play and finished the weekend with a 5-2 win against Bryant. With the 1-1 split on the weekend, Amherst’s record sits at 13-3.

Saturday was Amherst’s second NESCAC match of the season, falling to 1-1 in conference play.

The 13th-ranked Mammoths beat the 3rd- ranked Polar Bears 2-1 in doubles action. Zach Bessette ’19/Jayson Fung ’20 pulled out a 9-8(3) victory on the first court and Oscar Burney ’20/Josh Marchalik ’20 found victory on court No. 2, 8-6.
Andrew Arnaboldi ’17/John Heidenberg ’19 fell in a close 8-9 loss.

Marchalik won his singles match as well, beating Grant Urken 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(3) on the second court. Amherst’s final victory of the day was won by Fung on court No. 4, 6-0, 7-6(7).

The Mammoths traveled to Smithfield, Rhode Island on Sunday to play Division I Bryant. The match was played according to Division I guidelines, a seven-point format.

Each of the six singles matches was worth one point and the team that won two of the three doubles matches earned the seventh point.

Amherst earned wins on the second and third doubles courts to earn the first point of the match. Arnaboldi/Chris Paradis ’20 found an 8-5 victory on the second court and Sam Silver ’17/Heidenberg clinched a 8-2 doubles win on court No. 3.

With a 1-0 lead, Amherst entered singles play and logged wins on the second, fourth, fifth and sixth courts. On court No. 2, Bessette won 6-1, 6-3 and Jesse Levitin ’19 pulled out a three-set victory, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6, on the fourth court.

Paradis won 6-4, 6-3 on court No. 5, and Arnaboldi notched a 7-5, 6-3 triumph on court No. 6. By the end of the day, the Mammoths had secured a 5-2 victory.

The purple and white return to the courts on Friday, April 14 to face Connecticut College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.