MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- The Bates men's tennis team made its 2025-26 fall debut this weekend with an appearance in the two-day Middlebury College Invitational.

In "A" flight singles play, Eric Diop (So.) and Rocco Regnier (Fy.) each enjoyed first-round victories to start the season. Diop put away Skidmore's Yuval Goodman in straight sets (7-5, 6-2) while Reginier, in his Bates debut outlasted Akshat Dhull of Hamilton College in comeback fashion (1-6, 6-1, 10-8).

Josh Maller (Fy.), also making his first collegiate appearance for the Bobcats, defeated Skidmore's Nika Mora by the score of 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 10-4 in the first round of "C" singles. 

Playing in "A" flight doubles, the tandem of Regnier and Theo Sardain (Sr.) bounced back from a first-round loss to defeat Skidmore's Goodman and Harrison Gradin, 8-6. Diop and Maller enjoyed an 8-5 win over Alexi Katelevsky and Filip Moller of Hamilton in the "A" flight back draw.
 
The Bobcats are back in action Oct. 3-5 at the ITA New England Championships, hosted by Tufts.