Bulldogs Win Third in a Row

NEW HAVEN, Conn. –  Senior Jordan Abergel's three-set win at No. 6 singles gave the Yale men's tennis team a thrilling 4-3 victory over three-time reigning America East champion Binghamton Saturday afternoon at Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center. With all other singles matches finishing in two sets, Abergel and Binghamton's Ruben Devos were the last two on the courts. After dropping the first set 6-3, Abergel won the last two to clinch the win for the Bulldogs. Devos rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the third to tie the set at five, but Abergel won the last two games.

Yale (6-5, 0-0 Ivy League) started off with a win in doubles, as the No. 1 team of sophomore Marc Powers and junior Joel Samaha and the No. 2 team of junior Erik Blumenkranz and sophomore Daniel Hoffman both won 8-5. Blumenkranz has now won seven straight matches in doubles play. The Bearcats were able to take the No. 3 doubles match, but by then the Bulldogs already had the point clinched.

Binghamton (2-9, 0-0 America East) won the top two singles matches and also got a win at No. 4. But Blumenkranz delivered a quick 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 5, and Hoffman's 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 3 helped set the stage for Abergel's dramatic victory. Hoffman has now won eight in a row in singles play, including seven in straight sets.

The win represents a turnaround from the match between these same two teams a month earlier, when Binghamton took a 4-3 win at the ECAC Indoor Team Championship. The Bearcats' other win this season also came against an Ivy League foe, 4-3 over No. 60 Princeton.

Yale has won six of its last seven matches at Cullman-Heyman, and the Bulldogs' perfect weekend also included a 6-1 win over Quinnipiac on Friday. They now head south for spring break, as they will participate in the "Battle at the Beach" in Wilmington, N.C.  Yale plays at UNC-Wilmington on Wednesday.

Report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity