Lu's Winning Streak Ends in Elis' 7-0 Loss

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Yale men's tennis team came up against a first-rate opponent in No. 38 Virginia Tech on Sunday at the Hokies' Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.  Though the Bulldogs stood resilient, Virginia Tech came away with the 7-0 victory.  With the loss, the Elis will return home from their trip to Virginia with a 1-1 record to start the season, ready to take to their home courts in the upcoming weeks.

In doubles, the Hokies secured the point with a pair of wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.  Notably, however, No. 1 doubles saw a high-quality contest between Yale's duo of freshman Tyler Lu and sophomore Martin Svenning and Virginia Tech's tandem of Amerigo Contini and Andreas Bjerrehus, a pair that is the No. 23 doubles team in the nation.  Lu and Svenning did not allow the high ranking of their opponents rattle them, and the match was locked at 5-4 when Virginia Tech wrapped up the doubles point at the No. 3 spot.   

In singles play, Contini and Bjerrehus also got the better of Lu and Svenning, respectively.  Lu, who had been riding a six-match winning streak dating back to the Connecticut State Championships in October, put up a strong fight against Contini, the No. 26 singles player in the country.  Ultimately, however, Contini managed to edge Lu in two tight sets, 6-5(5), 6-4.  At No. 5 singles, freshman Photos Photiades also tested a higher-ranked Virginia Tech opponent, No. 122 Aaron Gomez, before succumbing in straight sets, 6-2, 6-5(3).    

Yale (1-1, 0-0 Ivy) will now have two weeks of rest and recovery before returning to match play against East Tennessee on Sunday, Feb. 2.  This time, however, the Bulldogs will showcase their tennis on their home courts.  The match against East Tennessee will be the first of seven consecutive matches at home for the Bulldogs. 

Report by Robert Batista '15, Yale Sports Publicity