Bulldogs Will Finish Season with Even Record on the Road
HANOVER, N.H. – The Yale men's tennis team signaled its desire to remain in contention for the Ivy League title on Friday with a strong win over Dartmouth (9-12, 1-4 Ivy). Playing at the Big Green's courts, the Bulldogs secured the doubles point before capturing four wins in singles to seal the 5-2 victory.
For No. 57 Yale (17-5, 3-2 Ivy), the win solidifies its place at No. 4 in the Ivy League standings, with just two more matches to go in the season. The Bulldogs' effort against the Big Green also means they will finish the season with a 3-3 record in away matches on non-neutral surfaces. This even win-loss mark complements their impressive record at home, which currently stands at 9-1.
The competition for the doubles point saw Yale's No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams step up when the Bulldogs' No. 1 senior duo of captain Daniel Hoffman and Marc Powers suffered an 8-4 loss to Dartmouth's No. 1 pairing of Xander Centenari and Brandon DeBot. At No. 2 doubles, junior Patrick Chase and senior John Huang posted an 8-6 win over Alex de Chatellus and Brendan Tannebaum. The No. 3 doubles match finished with the same score, in favor of Yale's tandem of sophomore Matt Saiontz and freshman Martin Svenning.
Brimming with confidence, the Elis then proceeded to cruise in singles, with Huang, Powers and Svenning all gaining fairly straightforward wins at No.'s 1, 2 and 4 singles, respectively. Huang and Svenning have been the two most successful Bulldogs in conference play this season, with both having strung together a 4-1 record through five matches. At No. 3 singles, Hoffman put the finishing touches on the Bulldog triumph with a signature three-set victory over Cameron Ghorbani, 6-4, 2-6, 1-0(8).
The Elis will bring this win over the Big Green and their imposing record and statistics in home matches into their clash with No. 22 Harvard (16-4, 4-0 Ivy), which will take place at Yale's courts on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The Bulldogs will have to bring their best game against their great rival, as the Crimson squad is currently on an eleven-match winning streak. Yale will be trying to become the first team to defeat Harvard since mid-February.
Report by Robert Batista '15, Yale Sports Publicity
