CLAREMONT, Calif., - Top Wildcat doubles team Brooks Lerfald and Zac Nakajima upset the No. 25 doubles pair in NCAA Division III but Linfield fell 7-0 Sunday to the Middlebury Panthers.
 
The match kicked off Linfield's (5-8, 5-4) spring break trip through southern California in a neutral-site match played at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Biszantz Family Tennis Center.
 
The Panthers (6-0, 5-0) of Middlebury, Vt., members of the New England Small College entered Sunday ranked No. 10 in DIII by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association with wins against three other ranked opponents.
 
DOUBLES
Lerfald and Nakajima picked up their signature win of the season so far with their upset, taking down the Panthers' top duo of Julian Wu and Noah Lewis 6-4. The win was the No. 1 Linfield pair's fifth consecutive to improve to an 8-5 record on the season.
 
In addition to being ranked No. 25 nationally Wu and Lewis were also ranked No. 7 in the ITA's 'Northeast' region of DIII.
 
Unfortunately, by the time Lerfald and Nakajima secured their upset the Panthers had already clinched the day's doubles point with a 6-1 win at No. 2 for Nikky Kondamuri and Nathan Hernandez over Joey Henderson and Cameron Paulsen and a 6-2 win at No. 3 by Zhangsiqi Zhou and Nathan Jackson against Alexander Rosenquist and Gavin Orozco.
 
SINGLES
The Wildcats competed well in singles but Middlebury managed to extend their lead to three after an hour of competition with wins at the bottom and top of the lineup.
 
The Panthers made it 2-0 with a win at No. 6 by a rested Sidney Huet against Orozo 6-0, 6-1, and moved within a point of clinching after Lewis managed to pull away from Lerfald in the second set after a competitive first in the top flight for a 6-4, 6-1 finish.
Middlebury clinched 4-0 after a win at No. 3 by Andrew Yim, who also sat through doubles action, over Paulsen in a similar score to No. 1, 6-3, 6-1, ending a four-match win streak by Paulsen.
 
The Panthers added to the lead with another 6-4, 6-1 win, this time by Jackson over Henderson at No. 4. No. 5 singles saw the day's only three set-contest, thanks to an impressive comeback by Rosenquist against Kondamuri to force a third frame, but the Panther eventually winning 6-2, 4-6, 10-4 in a 10-point tiebreak for the third set.
 
Action concluded with a gritty match at No. 2 that saw Nakajima nearly force a third set of his own, but eventually was outlasted by the No. 16 ranked player in the Northeast region and Portland, Ore. product Reif Larsen, also only competing in singles, in an eventual 6-4, 7-5 match.
 
NEXT
Linfield continues its spring break trip through southern California with matches against two other ranked opponents, visiting No. 31 Caltech (5-2, 1-0) in Pasadena on Monday at 11 a.m. before playing No. 27 Redlands (3-7, 0-1) on Wednesday.
 
The Wildcats resume Northwest Conference play at Whitman on March 28. Read Full Article