No. 47 Bulldogs Drop Just Two Points Across Three Home Matches, Dominate Regional Opponents Fairfield, Marist, Stony Brook

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale men's tennis team extended its win streak to seven matches this weekend with a trio of lopsided home victories over regional opponents Fairfield, Marist and Stony Brook. The Elis excelled in their role as hosts of this weekend's Yale Invitational, dropping just two points across all three matches and improving their home record this season to a perfect 8-0. In what was an exceptional team performance, the Bulldogs failed to drop even a single set in doubles, notching a dominant 6-0 overall record on the weekend. In singles, freshmen Ryan Cheng, Andrew Heller and Dylan King stood out with two victories apiece; juniors Stefan Doehler and Ziqi Wang were also among a number of players who went unbeaten on the weekend. 

Saturday's match against Stony Brook finished 6-1 in favor of the home side, an identical score to that of last year's fixture. Despite the final score line, Saturday's match was arguably the most competitive of the weekend, featuring three three-set singles matches. After veterans Stefan Doehler and Alex Hagermoser led the way in doubles for the Bulldogs with a 6-2 victory over Stony Brook's Rodrigo Hadlich and Tyler Hoffman the No. 1 position, the Elis put away the match quickly in singles. Ryan Cheng finished first with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win over Hadlich at No. 3 singles; Andrew Heller and Dennis Wang followed suit by recording a pair of straight-set victories at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively. Although the result of the match had already been decided in the Bulldogs' favor, senior Photos Photiades never stopped fighting at No. 6 singles, submitting an impressive comeback in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Stony Brook's Finn Kemper. Junior Ziqi Wang also notched a hard-fought comeback at No. 2 singles by winning a third-set super tiebreak after splitting the first two sets 4-6, 7-6. 

The Elis' second match of the weekend, a 6-1 performance over Marist, was particularly impressive given the fact that the opposing side came into the match riding a six-match win streak. Nathan Brown and Photos Photiades starred for Yale in doubles, clinching the doubles point for the Bulldogs with a smooth 6-2 win over Marist's Gianlucca Massa and Javier Restrepo at the No. 3 spot. In a similar fashion to the match against Stony Brook, the Elis proceeded to clinch the result quickly in singles. Senior captain Tyler Lu led the way with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Restrepo in the top spot; Doehler also cruised to victory at No. 4 singles with a 6-3, 6-1 performance over Marist's Justin Chanthalangsy. Ziqi Wang played the most competitive match of the day at No. 2 singles, edging Marist star Rudolf Kurz 6-4, 7-5.

Yale's final match of the weekend, a 7-0 victory over Fairfield, saw the Bulldogs dominate across the board. Freshman duo Ryan Cheng and Dylan King clinched the doubles point and improved their record together on the season to 9-2 with a clutch 6-4 win over Fairfield's Jeffrey Rodgers and Tyler Shibles at No. 2 doubles. In singles, Lu cruised to victory once again at No. 1 singles, downing Fairfield's Bradley Orban 6-2, 6-0; this result improved his spring singles record to a team-best 10-1. Yale's remaining five singles players also notched convincing straight-set victories in what was an incredibly quick victory for the home side; these five victories included the one-two punch of Andrew Heller and Dennis Wang at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, who had also found success in Saturday's match against Stony Brook.

With this weekend's trio of comprehensive victories, the Elis improved their overall record on the season to 11-3. Following a tough loss to Harvard on Feb. 18, Yale has rebounded convincingly, posting seven straight victories over elite opposition. After a busy weekend at home, the squad will have some time to recover before facing its next test: an away match against San Francisco this Friday.

Report by Cameron Ferguson '18, Yale Sports Publicity
 

FULL MATCH RESULTS – Yale 6, Stony Brook 1

FULL MATCH RESULTS – Yale, 6, Marist 1 

FULL MATCH RESULTS – Yale 7, Fairfield 0