Doehler, Heller, King Win in Straight Sets to Lift Bulldogs Over St. John's, 4-1
FLUSHING, N.Y. – The Yale men's tennis team traveled to Flushing Meadows on Saturday for its final non-conference match of the season, securing a comprehensive 4-1 win over St. John's. This result improved the Bulldogs' dual match record to an impressive 15-4 and marked their second victory over the Red Storm in as many months. In a performance that held many positives for the Elis, freshmen Dylan King and Andrew Heller notched highlight singles victories, with the former clinching the match at No. 3 singles; junior Stefan Doehler also contributed with a straight-set win in the No. 4 spot.
Saturday's match began with a tightly contested round of doubles. Senior duo Tyler Lu and Photos Photiades finished first at No. 3 doubles, cruising to a 6-2 victory over SJU's Andrei Crapcenko and Alex Roszkowski; this result extended the pair's current win streak to four matches. After the Red Storm claimed victory at the No. 2 spot, however, the doubles point ultimately fell on the shoulders of top team Fedor Andrienko and Alex Hagermoser. Andrienko excelled in his first match of the spring, combining with Hagermoser to record a 6-3 win over SJU's Luka Sucevic and Ognjen Trejgut and give the Bulldogs an early lead in the match.
Following a positive performance in doubles, the Elis immediately looked to extend their lead in singles. Yale's Andrew Heller was the first to finish at No. 5 singles, with the star freshman cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over SJU's Federico Ruiz and improving his record to 6-1 in his last seven singles matches. Although the Red Storm looked like it might mount a comeback after Trejgut edged Dennis Wang at the No. 6 position, the Bulldogs hardly ever looked rattled; junior Stefan Doehler's 6-4, 6-4 win over SJU's Dusan Vukicevic at No. 4 singles soon restored Yale's two-point lead and drew them within one point of victory. With the remaining singles matches coming down to the wire, Yale's Dylan King ultimately pulled away to clinch the match, downing SJU's Crapcenko 7-5, 6-1; this result extended the freshman's current win streak to 10 matches and continued his incredible run of form this spring (15-2 overall).
Saturday's comprehensive performance over one of the top teams in the Northeast Region will give the Bulldogs confidence heading into the Ivy League portion of their schedule. If Yale can continue to perform at such a high level, conference glory may be within grasp; the team already has a 1-0 start to conference action after a 5-2 victory over Brown on Mar. 5. The Elis' next test will come on Friday in an away match against Dartmouth.
Report by Cameron Ferguson '18, Yale Sports Publicity
FULL MATCH RESULTS -- Yale 4, St. John's 1
