Waterville, Maine - The Colby Men's Tennis team took the courts at home this Thursday afternoon against #9 ranked Bowdoin College. The match was held outdoors in cold and extremely windy conditions. 

The Mules started out strong, being aggressive in doubles play, taking it to their Polar Bear opponents. Following a win at the #3 spot by Bowdoin 6-3, senior captain Jake Cohen and first-year Jason Daly quickly answered with a 6-4 win of their own at the #1 spot, returning with precision and taking care of their service games efficiently. With the doubles point up for grabs, junior Aidan Kwong and first-year Marco Ziets-Segura displayed clutch play in front of their Colby teammates all watching. Despite letting go of a 5-3 lead, the duo displayed incredible mental toughness and resilience, winning 7-6(3), securing the opening doubles point for the Mules. 

Heading into singles play up 1-0 in the dual match, the Mules gave themselves a good chance of pulling off the upset. After Bowdoin secured a win at the #6 position, Daly matched it with a dominant 6-3, 6-0 win at the #2 spot, adding on to his incredible freshman season in singles play. Bowdoin then answered with straight set wins at the #5 and #3 spots, putting the Polar Bears up 3-2, just one point away from clinching the match. Cohen and Kwong were the last ones on court for the Mules, at the #1 and #4 spots, respectively. Both battled back after losing their opening sets, responding with clutch play at the end of their second sets, forcing deciding sets. Unfortunately for Colby, Bowdoin was just a bit too much for them on this day. Kwong fell just short to his opponent, losing 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, clinching the match for the Polar Bears at the #4 spot. Cohen ultimately fell in a three-hour marathon to his opponent 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 at the #1 spot. 

Despite a great fight, the Mules came up just short against their top 10 rival. They will finish out regular season play next weekend with a pair of home matches against Tufts and Bates, the latter being senior day.