Last week coach Doanh Wang felt that the two-match losing streak that the Colby men’s tennis team suffered would be good in the long run and would keep the team hungry. This week the men proved him right. The Mules ended their slide with a pair of statement victories over Wesleyan University and Connecticut College on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Coach Wang noted that these opponents were certainly not to be overlooked. “Both Wesleyan and Connecticut College can be tricky teams to play against, especially when we compete at their courts.”

Against Wesleyan, first-years Matt Carroll and Jack Bryant won at their respective third and fourth singles spots and also combined to win the first doubles spot 8-3, leading a Colby sweep of doubles for the match. Jason Ottomano ’14 and Luke Martin ’14 overcame a late injury to Martin to win 8-5, and Sam Bachelder ’14 teamed up with Robert Yee ’12 to take third doubles, 8-3. Bachelder and Matt Mantikas ’13 also won in singles as Colby claimed victory with a final score of 7-2 to begin the weekend.

The Mules’ momentum refused to yield as Sunday marked Ottomano’s first New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) win at first singles. Colby ended up winning the second match of the weekend in  dominating fashion, 8-1. Colby once again swept the doubles play and also received singles wins from Carroll, Bryant, Mantikas and Bachelder.

Coach Wang was very pleased at the results in doubles for both days. “We did a great job creating momentum for the matches by taking control of the doubles. We swept the doubles against both teams. I was very pleased with this; the chemistry of our doubles teams is special, and I feel this has contributed to our success.”

The Mules, who improved their record to 7-2 this past weekend, will play a two-match home stand this weekend against NESCAC opponents Tufts University and fourth-ranked Amherst College. The team will try to continue its success and improve on their conference record, which sits at 2-2.

Coach Wang added: “We are gaining valuable experience with each match. We will have to keep applying that experience to future matches and continue to seize opportunities as they come up. Against tougher and tougher opponents, opportunities will be less frequent, so we will have to be sharp and seize them right away.”