Andrienko, Doehler Secure Wins in Singles and Doubles as Yale Falls to No. 26 Columbia 5-2
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's tennis team played its third match of the Ivy League season on Saturday, hosting nationally ranked Columbia in a tightly contested match. Heading into Saturday's match, the Bulldogs knew that the Lions – who currently rank No. 26 in the nation and are considered conference title favorites – would pose a significant challenge. As anticipated, the opposition played a strong match across the board on Saturday; and although the Elis ultimately ended up on the wrong side of a 5-2 match, they can take a considerable amount of pride in the performance of two star sophomores: Fedor Andrienko and Stefan Doehler.
Saturday's match kicked off with a competitive round of doubles. Although Columbia began well with a quick victory in the No. 3 spot, Yale refused to give up the remaining two matches easily. At No. 1 doubles, sophomore duo Andrienko and Doehler posted their most impressive result of the year in a masterful 6-3 upset win over Columbia's Michal Rolski and Mike Vermeer; considering Rolski and Vermeer rank No. 35 in the nation, this stunning victory may garner early All-Ivy consideration for Yale's top doubles pairing. After splitting the first two matches, the doubles point came down to Photos Photiades and Martin Svenning's match in the No. 2 position. Though the two fought well and could have changed the outcome of the match with just a single service break, Columbia's Shawn Hadavi and Victor Pham managed to escape with the victory in a nervy 6-4 performance.
After facing surprisingly stiff competition in the doubles round, the Lions ramped up the pressure in singles. At No. 1 and No. 5 singles, Yale's Dennis Wang and Ziqi Wang were first to fall in tough losses to Columbia's Timothy Wang and Shawn Hadavi, respectively; senior Martin Svenning also came up short in the No. 4 spot, narrowly dropping the first set in a 6-4, 6-0 loss. Fedor Andrienko responded, however, and gave the Bulldogs their first point with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-1 win over Columbia's No. 2 player Victor Pham. As Pham has beaten several nationally ranked singles players this season, the convincing nature of Andrienko's straight-set victory becomes all the more impressive.
After Columbia's Vermeer topped Yale's Alex Hagermoser 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3 singles, only Stefan Doehler remained in action for the Elis. Though Yale had already officially lost the match, the sophomore continued to trade blows with Columbia's Richard Pham; and after pulling out a series of clutch shots in the third-set super tiebreak, Doehler ended the day on a high note for the Bulldogs with a 6-1, 4-6, (10-6) victory. Doehler has played excellent tennis of late, and Saturday's result improved his record to 7-2 in his last nine singles matches.
Although the Elis fell short of notching their first win of the Ivy League season, they can take solace in the fact that two of their younger players found such great success against one of the best teams in the nation. Yale will play its next match tomorrow against No. 54 Cornell; the ball is scheduled to drop at 1:00 p.m. on Yale's home courts.
Report by Cameron Ferguson '18, Yale Sports Publicity
FULL MATCH RESULTS -- Columbia 5, Yale 2
