Bulldogs Drop Just One Point in Comprehensive 6-1 Victory Over No. 60 UC Davis
DAVIS, Calif. – Following a perfect 4-0 victory over San Francisco on Friday, the Yale men's tennis team headed into Saturday's match against UC Davis with an eight-match win streak on the line. Despite their opponents' home court advantage and the absence of Ryan Cheng due to injury, the Elis excelled once again, securing a 6-1 victory that was much closer than the score indicated. In a match where the Bulldogs dropped just one out of nine matches, nearly every player was at the top of his game; freshman Andrew Heller and junior Stefan Doehler stand out, however, given their strong performances in tight singles matches.
Saturday's clash at UC Davis' Marya Welch Tennis Center began with a hard-fought round of doubles. Yale senior duo Tyler Lu and Photos Photiades were first to finish, downing UC Davis' Alec Adamson and Max Pham in a relatively close 6-3 match at the No. 3 position. With Dylan King and Ziqi Wang locked in a battle at the No. 2 spot, Alex Hagermoser and Stefan Doehler took the initiative and clinched the doubles point for the Elis, edging UC Davis' Bryce McKelvie and James Wade 6-4 at No. 1 doubles. Now having won four of their last five, Hagermoser and Doehler look poised to make a case for All-Ivy come the string of Ivy League fixtures in April.
After escaping with a point in doubles, the Bulldogs quickly extended their lead in singles. Senior captain Tyler Lu finished first, cruising to a 6-2, 7-5 win over UC Davis' Adamson at the No. 1 spot; Lu, who is currently ranked No. 65 nationally, has established a remarkable 11-1 record in singles so far this spring. Freshman Dylan King then extended the Elis' lead to 3-0 by taking his match 6-2, 7-6 over UC Davis' McKelvie at No. 3 singles; this result, which required King to save a set point in the second set, improved the Bulldog's overall season singles record to an impressive 25-4.
Although victory was within reach for the Bulldogs, the remaining four matches went down to the wire, with both Heller and Dennis Wang reaching third sets at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, respectively. It was junior Stefan Doehler who came through to close out the match at No. 4 singles, coming back from a 5-2 second set deficit to win his match 7-6, 7-6 over UC Davis' Everett Maltby. Doehler's classmate Ziqi Wang soon followed suit with a narrow 7-5, 7-6 victory over UC Davis' Wade at No. 2 singles. The remaining two singles matches reached third set super tiebreaks, with Andrew Heller winning his and Dennis Wang falling short in a 6-7, 6-0, 6-3 battle against UC Davis' David Goulak.
After winning another match over a nationally ranked opponent, the Elis are playing the best tennis they have all season. Yale will look to carry over this positive momentum into its next match, which will come against Sacramento State tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. PDT.
Report by Cameron Ferguson '18, Yale Sports Publicity
