Andrienko, Cheng Star in Victories Over Army, Santa Clara
WEST POINT, NY – The Yale men's tennis team officially kicked off the spring dual match season on Saturday by competing in the East Coast Challenge. Despite the long break from competitive tennis, the Elis looked as sharp as ever, earning a 4-0 victory over Army and a 4-2 victory over Santa Clara. Yale's Fedor Andrienko and Ryan Cheng were among the day's top performers, as both players won two singles matches apiece; sophomore Dylan King also did well to pick up two doubles wins.
To begin Saturday's action, the Bulldogs took on Santa Clara. The doubles round was intensely competitive, with all three matches going down to the wire and reaching tiebreaks. Although No. 1 team Andrienko and Stefan Doehler fell to Santa Clara's Andrew Gu and Robert Seby 7-6, Yale was able to rebound at the remaining positions to claim the doubles point. At No. 2 doubles, Yale's Cheng and Andrew Heller edged Santa Clara's Vasileios Iliopoulos and Jesus Barajas, 7-6; King and Ziqi Wang also managed to win by the same score at the No. 3 spot.
After earning the doubles point, the Bulldogs quickly extended their lead in singles through Cheng and Andrienko, who notched straight-set victories at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively. Junior Nathan Brown cruised to victory as well in a 6-1, 6-3 exhibition win over Santa Clara's Sebastien Mathieu. Santa Clara clawed its way back into the match, though, when Gu downed Heller 7-5, 7-6(4) at the No. 1 spot and Connor Garnett narrowly edged Yale's King in three sets. The senior captain Doehler ultimately clinched the match for Yale, however, with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 comeback victory over Santa Clara's Barajas at No. 3 singles.
Following their strong 4-2 win over Santa Clara, the Elis headed into Saturday night's match against Army with confidence and the match from the outset. In doubles, Andrienko and Doehler cruised to a 6-1 victory over Army's Michael Nguyen and Gregory Shannon. Brown and King soon followed suit at No. 3 doubles, winning 6-2 over Army's David Mitchell and Grant Patterson and earning the doubles point for Yale.
The Bulldogs' dominant play continued in singles, with two familiar faces leading the way once again. At No. 4 singles, Cheng downed Mitchell 6-2, 6-2; at No. 5 singles, Andrienko beat Army's Dylan Simonsen 6-0, 6-3. Brown then clinched the match for the Elis with a convincing 6-4, 6-3 win over Army's No. 6 player Anant Mundra.
After an impressive start to the spring season, the Bulldogs will look to build on Saturday's performances in their upcoming clash with Florida Atlantic at noon tomorrow. If Yale can leave the East Coast Challenge with three consecutive victories, this would send a clear message to the rest of the Northeast Region.
Report by Cameron Ferguson '18, Yale Sports Publicity
FULL MATCH RESULTS – Yale 4, Santa Clara 2
Doubles
- Seby/Gu (S) def. Andrienko/Doehler (Y), 7-6
- Heller/Cheng (Y) def. Iliopoulos/Barajas (S), 7-6
- Z. Wang/King (Y) def. Khan/Garnett (S), 7-6
Singles
- Gu (S) def. Heller (Y), 7-5; 7-6(4)
- Z. Wang (Y) v. Seby (S), DNF
- Doehler (Y) def. Barajas (S), 4-6; 7-5; 6-3
- Garnett (S) def. King (Y), 3-6; 6-3; 6-4
- Cheng (Y) def. Iliopoulos (S), 6-4; 6-2
- Andrienko (Y) def. Khan (S), 7-6; 7-5
- Brown (Y) def. Mathieu (S), 6-3; 6-1 [exhibition]
FULL MATCH RESULTS – Yale 4, Army 0
Doubles
- Andrienko/Doehler (Y) def. Nguyen/Shannon (A), 6-1
- Cheng/Heller (Y) v. Conlin/Simonsen (A), DNF
- Brown/King (Y) def. Mitchell/Patterson (A), 6-2
- Sou/D. Wang (Y) v. Hale/Ockerman (A), DNF [exhibition]
Singles
- Heller (Y) v. Nguyen (A), DNF
- Z. Wang (Y) v. Shannon (A), DNF
- King (Y) v. Conlin (A), DNF
- Cheng (Y) def. Mitchell (A), 6-2; 6-2
- Andrienko (Y) def. Simonsen (A), 6-0; 6-3
- Brown (Y) def. Mundra (A), 6-4; 6-3
