MEDFORD, MA (March 29, 2025) – The No. 3 Tufts men's varsity tennis team faced off against the No. 12 Middlebury Panthers in an early Saturday afternoon match in Medford. Middlebury came out on top in last year's meeting with a 6-3 victory, continuing their strong track record against Tufts. Since 2013, the Jumbos have managed to defeat the Panthers only twice, making this matchup an opportunity for Tufts to turn the tide in the rivalry.
The energy was high as doubles matches began, and Tufts wasted no time asserting control. At No. 3,
Lachie Macintosh and
Derin Acaroglu came out firing, quickly jumping to a 3-0 lead. Their aggressive net play overwhelmed their opponents Julian Wu and Noah Lewis, and they cruised to a 6-1 victory.
At No. 1 doubles,
Javier Gonzalez and
Vuk Vuksanovic faced off against Noah Laber and Thehan Wijemanne. They broke serve early to take a 2-1 lead. From there, they stayed solid on serve, closing out a 6-3 win—extending their winning streak as a tandem to four matches.
The final doubles match saw No. 2
Alex Ganchev and
Sacha Maes play Neel Epstein and Hugh Hentschel. They wrapped up a 6-2 win to complete a sweep in the doubles portion of the match giving the Jumbos a 1-0 lead.
At No. 1 singles, Vuksanovic faced a familiar opponent in Laber, who he beat last year. With massive serves, Vuksanovic dominated the first set, taking it 6-1. Laber pushed back in the second, but Vuksanovic remained poised, serving for the match at 5-4. He delivered a straight sets victory putting Tufts another step closer to the overall win.
Ganchev, fresh off his doubles win, continued his stellar play at No. 6 against Wijemanne. After battling through a tight first set to win 6-3, he dominated the second set 6-0.
Gonzalez also faced a former rival in Wu, who had beaten him last season. Gonzalez came out strong, racing to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but Wu fought back, flipping the momentum and taking the set 6-4. Gonzalez struggled to find his rhythm in the second as Wu continued to apply pressure, ultimately handing Tufts its only singles loss of the day.
Acaroglu, playing at No. 3, made quick work of the first set, overwhelming Epstein 6-0. However, the second set proved far more challenging. Down 5-4 and needing a break to avoid a third set, Acaroglu dug deep, breaking back to even the set at 5-5. The set went to a tiebreak at 6-6, where Acaroglu took control, winning 7-6 (7-3) to lock in another point for Tufts.
At No. 5,
Andrej Djokic methodically wore down his opponent, winning the first set 6-2. The junior carried that momentum into the second to close out the match 6-3. Meanwhile,
Lachie Macintosh played one of the cleanest matches of the day at No. 4 vs Lewis, only dropping two games in the process, winning 6-1,6-1.
This dominant win moves the Jumbos to 11-1 on the season and keeps them undefeated at 3-0 in NESCAC play. Next Saturday at 10 AM, they take on Hamilton College, kicking off a crucial stretch where seven of their final eight matches will be against NESCAC opponents.
ORDER OF FINISH 1,6, 2,3,5,4
--JUMBOS--
