Andrienko, Svenning, D. Wang Shine in Tight 4-3 Loss to Buffalo
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's tennis team kicked off a busy weekend at home this Saturday with a dual match against Buffalo. In a thrilling match that was ultimately decided by just a few games, both teams gave everything to secure a win and improve their start to the dual match season. Although in the end the shorthanded Elis suffered a 4-3 loss (their second of the season), the home crowd took away many positives from the performance and will have high expectations for the team as it prepares for the Ivy League season in April.
Heading into Saturday's match, the Bulldogs anticipated a fierce challenge – not only was star player Tyler Lu absent from the lineup, but their opponents had gained significant momentum with a surprise victory over Brown the previous weekend. Starting with doubles in the morning, Buffalo quickly threw Yale off balance with decisive victories at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. With the doubles point already decided, the closest match -- a 5-5 deadlock between Yale duo Martin Svenning and Ziqi Wang and Buffalo's Pablo Alvarez and Amar Hromic at No. 2 doubles -- was suspended immediately. Although the Elis were disappointed with the result, they no doubt received a lift in seeing the return of sophomore Stefan Doehler to doubles action after being sidelined since last year. If Doehler, the 2015 ITA Northeast Region Rookie of the Year, can return to full health in the coming weeks, Yale will have strengthened its lineup considerably.
After stumbling in the doubles round, the Elis approached the singles round with renewed tenacity. The most lopsided scoreline of the day came in a victory for Yale's Fedor Andrienko at No. 6 singles; the sophomore's masterful 6-4, 6-1 win over Buffalo's Artur Culicovschi was the perfect way to start his second half of the season. While freshman Nathan Brown fell in straight sets at No. 4 singles, his classmate Dennis Wang responded well at No. 5 singles by downing Buffalo's Akhil Meta 6-4, 6-3. As this result marked Wang's first singles victory since September, the freshman will be looking use it as a springboard for future success. After missing the previous match against William & Mary, Svenning also managed to impress in front of the home crowd by topping Buffalo's Ethan Nittolo 6-2, 6-4 at No. 3 singles.
With Yale's Alex Hagermoser coming up short against a tough opponent in the No. 2 spot, however, the match ultimately came down to Ziqi Wang's match in the top spot. Standing in his way was Amar Hromic, a fierce competitor who has competed shot for shot with the likes of Dartmouth's Dovydas Sakinis (ranked No. 18 nationally) and was sure to pose a challenge. After leaping out to a fantastic start and winning the first set 7-5, Wang lost grip of the second set and quickly found himself headed into a third set after dropping the second 6-1. And although the Bulldog pushed his opponent to his limit, it took just one service break to decide the final set 6-4 in favor of Buffalo.
Though the Elis were admittedly shorthanded once again on Saturday, their opponents deserve a great deal of credit; for the Bulls, this result marked their first victory over Yale in the tennis program's history, and their squad looks to be the strongest it has been in years. The Bulldogs will have no time to mull over this loss, however, as they face Boston College in doubles at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow (the singles played out on Saturday afternoon), followed by a match against Monmouth in the afternoon.
Report by Cameron Ferguson '18, Yale Sports Publicity
Full Match Results
Doubles:
Alvarez/Hromic (UB) def Andrienko/Doehler (Yale), 6-3
Svenning/Z. Wang (Yale) vs. Hajdu-Andersson/Mehta (UB), 5-5 (suspended)
Arevalillo/Nittolo (UB) def. Hagermoser/J. Brown (Yale) 6-4
Singles:
Hromic (UB) def. Z. Wang (Yale), 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
Alvarez (UB) def. Hagermoser (Yale), 6-3, 6-2
Svenning (Yale) def. Nittolo (UB), 6-2, 6-4
Arevalillo (UB) def. Brown , 6-2, 6-4
D. Wang (Yale) def. Mehta (UB), 6-4, 6-3
Andrienko (Yale) def. Culicovschi (UB), 6-4, 6-1
