Andrienko, Photiades, Svenning Impress in 4-1 Loss to No. 32 Harvard
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Yale men's tennis team saw its four-match win streak come to a screeching halt on Friday with a loss to rival Harvard in the opening round of the ECAC Championships. Although the rivalry clash at Penn's Hecht Tennis Center initially promised to be a competitive one, the unexpected absence of Yale's top player Ziqi Wang drastically changed the tenor of the match; ultimately, the Crimson were able to take advantage and claim four points before the shorthanded Elis could mount much resistance. On a day when fortune didn't seem to favor the Bulldogs, however, several players submitted impressive individual performances that bode well for the future.
Yale fell behind early in Friday's doubles round, with Fedor Andrienko and Stefan Doehler losing first at No. 1 doubles to Nicky Hu and Brian Yeung, 6-2. Although Photos Photiades and Martin Svenning notched a quality 6-4 victory at No. 3 doubles, Jason Brown and Alex Hagermoser found themselves outmatched in the No. 2 spot, where Harvard's Sebastian Beltrame and Kenneth Tao clinched the match and doubles point with a 6-3 win. Despite a disappointing result in doubles, the Bulldogs will find positives in the performance of Photiades and Svenning, who won in their first match together this season; in particular, Photiades has excelled in doubles play thus far with an 11-6 overall record.
It was in singles that the Elis truly felt the impact of the lineup's recent injuries. Stepping into the No. 1 singles spot, Svenning fell to Hu 6-3, 6-1, while Doehler lost by the same margin at the No. 5 spot. Although Andrienko claimed Yale's sole point of the day with a masterful 6-3, 6-0 victory over Andy Zhou at No. 4 singles (improving his dual match record to 5-1), the match soon ended when Hagermoser fell in the No. 2 spot 6-4, 6-3. With the match over, freshmen Nathan Brown and Dennis Wang did not get to finish their matches at No. 6 and No. 3 singles, respectively; it should be noted, however, that Wang had pushed his opponent to a tiebreak in the first set and looked to be playing well in the second.
Friday's loss to rival Harvard may have snapped Yale's recent momentum, but the Elis don't have much time to dwell on it; they will face St. John's tomorrow morning in the ECAC back draw. If the shorthanded Bulldogs can earn a victory in their final match before returning to New Haven, they would regain some much-needed confidence. Saturday's clash with St. John's will kick off at 9:00 a.m. sharp.
Report by Cameron Ferguson '18, Yale Sports Publicity
FULL MATCH RESULTS: Harvard 4, Yale 1
Doubles
1. Andrienko/Doehler (Y) lost to Hu/Yeung (H) 6-2
2. J. Brown/Hagermoser(Y) lost to Beltrame/Tao(H) 6-3
3. Photiades/Svenning(Y) won vs. Haughey/Lam(H) 6-4
Singles
1. Martin Svenning(Y) lost to Nicky Hu(H) 6-3, 6-1
2. Alex Hagermoser(Y) lost to Brian Yeung(H) 6-4, 6-3
3. Dennis Wang (Y) vs. Kenneth Tao(H) Did not finish
4. Fedor Andrienko(Y) won vs. Andy Zhou(H) 6-3, 6-0
5. Stefan Doehler(Y) lost to Kelvin Lam(H) 6-3, 6-1
6. Nathan Brown(Y) vs. Jean Thirouin(H) Did not finish
