Elis Win Five of Six Singles Matches in 5-2 Win Over Sacramento State
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – After submitting a convincing 6-1 performance over UC Davis on Saturday, the Yale men's tennis team put its nine-match win streak on the line against Sacramento State on Sunday. Although the Elis were playing away from home and felt the absence of the injured Ryan Cheng from the starting lineup, they rebounded from an early deficit to win the match 5-2 and extend their win streak to ten matches. In a match that was far closer than the score indicated, Bulldogs Stefan Doehler and Dylan King emerged as key contributors, as both players' narrow singles victories managed to push Yale across the finish line.
Sunday's match began with a highly competitive round of doubles. Senior duo Tyler Lu and Photos Photiades finished first at No. 3 doubles, completing a 6-4 win over Sacramento State's Christopher Clayton and Dom Miller; this result marked the pairing's second victory in as many days. The Hornets rallied strongly, however, by taking the remaining two doubles matches in convincing fashion and earning the doubles point. Although King and Ziqi Wang came close to halting the opposition's momentum, they ultimately came up short in a 6-3 loss to Sacramento State's Donald Hall and Hermont Legaspi at the No. 2 spot.
After narrowly dropping the doubles point, the Elis came out strong in singles, with No. 6 player Dennis Wang drawing first blood with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Sacramento State's Hall. Wang has played well of late, and Sunday's result improved his record to 4-2 in his last six singles matches. After Sacramento State's Mikus Losbergs notched a straight-set victory over Lu at No. 1 singles, however, the Bulldogs found themselves in a significant hole. Fortunately for the away side, junior Ziqi Wang led the comeback with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Miller at No. 2 singles, marking his eighth straight singles victory and improving his record this spring to a remarkable 12-1. Freshman Andrew Heller also contributed to Yale's comeback, showing impressive consistency in a 6-4, 6-4 win over Sacramento State's Clayton.
Although the remaining two matches did not reach third sets, they were still incredibly close. At No. 3 singles, freshman Dylan King hung on for a narrow 7-6, 6-4 win over Kasparas Zemaitelis to improve his overall record on the season to 26-4. For the second straight day, however, it was junior Stefan Doehler who clinched the match for the Elis; his clutch 7-6, 7-5 win over Sacramento State's Louis Chabut gave the Bulldogs the much-needed fourth point and marked his ninth straight singles victory.
The Elis have made a habit of winning since mid-February, with their recent ten-match win streak improving their overall dual match record to 14-3. Although the team's spring break tour of California has been a success so far, Yale will face its most daunting challenge of the season this Wednesday in a clash against No. 13 UC Berkeley. That match will take place at Berkeley's Hellman Tennis Center at 5:00 p.m. PT.
Report by Cameron Ferguson '18, Yale Sports Publicity
FULL MATCH RESULTS – Yale 5, Sacramento State 2
