Bulldogs Remain Undefeated at Home, Record Seventh Shutout of Season
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – At this rate, the Yale men's tennis team might enter the Ivy League stretch having won 10 of its last 11 matches. With just one more match until conference play begins, the Bulldogs made it nine out of ten on Sunday afternoon, as they swept St. Bonaventure (4-9, 0-1 A-10) to extend their unbeaten streak at home to eight matches. The victory over the Bonnies came without the loss of a set in both singles and doubles.
The win not only seals a perfect record for No. 51 Yale (13-3, 0-0 Ivy) in non-Ivy home matches, as the encounter against St. Bonaventure on Sunday marked the last such match of the season, but it also gives Yale its third-straight win and its seventh shutout of the season. Five of these sweeps, including the triumph over St. Bonaventure, came on the Elis' home courts.
The Bulldogs made it a perfect weekend in doubles when their No. 2 and No. 3 teams quickly eased to victory. At No. 2 doubles, senior captain Daniel Hoffman partnered with freshman Martin Svenning. This combination of experience and fresh talent proved too much for their St. Bonaventure opponents, Elliot Fanshel and Oscar Yanez, as Hoffman and Svenning posted an 8-2 win. At No. 3 doubles, senior Zachary Dean and Matt Saiontz put in a solid performance to defeat Gabriel Cardenas and Trevor Haskell 8-3. Both wins proved crucial to securing the doubles point, as a hard-fought match at No. 1 doubles was taking place when Yale sealed the point.
In singles, the Elis refused to let St. Bonaventure into the match, as all six players for Yale brought out their best to record straight-set wins. Senior John Huang set the tone with a comprehensive 6-0, 6-1 victory over Yanez. Both freshman Jason Brown and junior Kyle Dawson made strong returns to singles action. Brown overcame his opponent, Luis Guevara, 6-4, 6-1, while Dawson beat Celso de vera Rehberger for the loss of only one game. Dean, Hoffman and sophomore Daniel Faierman all added wins, the latter doing so in impressive fashion without dropping a single game.
In its final non-Ivy match of the season, Yale is likely to experience a tough outing, as the squad is set to take on St. John's (2-11, 0-1 Big East) at 5:00 p.m. on Mar. 30 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Though the Red Storm has been struggling this season, they defeated Yale in a fiercely competitive tussle last season, 4-3. Also, St. John's powerful No. 1 player, Vasko Mladenov, is on a seven-match winning streak.
Report by Robert Batista '15, Yale Sports Publicity
