NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Bulldogs completed a three-match weekend sweep and extended their winning streak to five matches with a 4-3 victory over Stony Brook to improve to 7-3 on the season Sunday at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center.  Senior captain Connor Dawson won a dramatic three-setter to clinch the victory for Yale.    

Yale began the match with three doubles victories over Stony Brook to take the doubles point.  At No. 1 doubles, the doubles team of sophomore Erik Blumenkranz and sophomore Joel Samaha rolled to an 8-3 victory over Halvar Dil and Mitch Wong.  Dawson and freshman Marc Powers cruised to an 8-2 win over Ivan Rummel and Roope Kailaheimo at No. 2 doubles.  Playing No. 3 doubles, junior Calvin Bennett and freshman John Huang won 8-5 over Jon Epstein and Palesh Tiwari.

Stony Brook took a 2-1 lead by winning singles matches at No. 4 and No. 5 singles.  Huang evened the score with a 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles over Epstein.  After Yale dropped a match at No. 3 singles, Powers pulled out a 6-3, 7-5 win over Kailaheimo at No. 1 singles to even the overall match score at 3-3. 

With the match score tied at three, Dawson, in just his second singles match since returning from a wrist injury that had him sidelined since the fall, had to come from behind at No. 6 singles.  After dropping the first set 6-2, Dawson won the second set 6-4.  Trailing 4-1 in the third set, Dawson won three straight games.  Each player then held serve twice before entering the decisive tiebreaker. 

Dawson took a 6-3 lead behind two mini-breaks before losing the next two points on his serve.  However, the third match point was the charm, as Dawson took the match 7-6 (7-5) in the third set. 

“Having Connor back in the singles line-up was a huge boost to the team this weekend,” said Alex Dorato, the Cary Leeds Head Coach of Men's Tennis.  “He came through for us in a big way today.” 

The win over Stony Brook was Yale's third of the weekend.  The Bulldogs started the weekend with a 6-1 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday.  Yale then defeated Marist 5-2 Saturday and Sunday before wrapping up the weekend with the win over Stony Brook.

The Bulldogs will be off until March 12 when they begin a four-match spring break trip in South Carolina. 

Complete Results

Singles
1.  Marc Power (Y) def. Roope Kailaheimo (S), 6-3, 7-5
2.  John Huang (Y) def. Jon Epstein (S), 6-4, 6-1
3.  Ivan Rummel (S) def. Calvin Bennett (Y), 7-5, 6-1
4.  Halvar Dil (S) def. Erik Blumenkranz (Y), 6-2, 6-2
5.  Mitch Wong (S) def. Joel Samaha (Y), 6-2, 7-5
6.  Connor Dawson (Y) def. Palesh Tiwari (S), 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)

Doubles
1.  Blumenkranz / Samaha (Y) def. Dil / Wong (S), 8-3
2.  Dawson / Powers (Y) def. Rummell / Kailaheimo (S), 8-2
3.  Bennett / Huang (Y) def. Epstein / Tiwari (S), 8-5

Report Filed by Steven Horn '10, Yale Sports Publicity