Dean, Hoffman and Svenning Add Pivotal Wins in Singles
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Yale men's tennis team wrapped up its spring break trip to North Carolina with a resounding 4-3 victory over No. 55 Old Dominion (11-5, 0-0 CAA) on Sunday. Playing at the home courts of UNC Wilmington, No. 50 Yale (11-3, 0-0 Ivy) lost the doubles point before staging a hard-fought comeback that climaxed with a third-set triumph by senior Marc Powers at No. 2 singles.
The win gets Yale back on track after having dropped its last match against No. 72 UNC Wilmington. The victory also marks the Elis' second 4-3 comeback of the season, with the first having occurred in early February against Alabama-Birmingham. The Bulldogs have also put together a solid 5-1 win-loss mark on neutral turf this season to complement their undefeated 6-0 record at home.
It was readily apparent early on that Yale would have its work cut out for it, as Old Dominion quickly snatched the doubles point with wins at No.'s 1 and 3 doubles. In a clash of ranked doubles teams, the Monarchs' No. 48 duo of Can Centinel and Carlos Lopez-Villa defeated the No. 59 tandem of Powers and senior captain Daniel Hoffman 8-3. At No. 3 doubles, Wesley Barrett and Tim Schweig overcame the Bulldog pairing of senior Zachary Dean and freshman Martin Svenning 8-5.
The Elis were to have the last word, however, as the four Yale players who secured the requisite four points in singles for the overall victory were the same four players who lost their matches in doubles—Dean, Hoffman, Powers and Svenning. At No. 6 singles, Dean eased past Schweig for the loss of only four games. Hoffman similarly cruised in his match at No. 3 singles, besting Dante Terenzio 6-2, 6-3. At the No. 4 spot, Svenning toughed out a second-set tiebreaker to post a crucial 6-2, 7-6 win over Barrett. These three wins gave Powers the chance to clinch, an opportunity which he seized by fending off a comeback by his opponent, Albert Ochagavia, to record a tough 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 triumph. The win is Powers' eighth in his last nine matches.
Old Dominion will try to regroup in its first match of conference play against Delaware in two weeks' time.
With only three more matches until the commencement of the Ivy League stretch in April, the Bulldogs return home this upcoming Saturday and Sunday for matches against Binghamton and St. Bonaventure.
Report by Robert Batista '15, Yale Sports Publicity
