Doehler Notches Straight-Set Victory; Andrienko, Hagermoser, Z. Wang Force Third Sets as Yale Falls to No. 34 Princeton 4-1
PRINCETON, N.J. – After a contested affair with Penn on Saturday, the Yale men's tennis team played its second match of the Ivy League season on Sunday against nationally ranked Princeton. Headed into the match, the Bulldogs anticipated a huge challenge – in addition to holding a top 35 national ranking, the Tigers beat three Ivy League opponents (Brown, Cornell and Penn) en route to winning the ECAC Championships this past February. Playing away from home and still missing top player Tyler Lu due to injury, the Elis looked to be significant underdogs on paper; their performance on Sunday, however, proved that they truly belonged on the same court as the nation's best. In a narrowly decided match that featured a tense doubles round and three three-set singles matches, Sunday's final score line – 4-1 in favor of Princeton – does not speak nearly enough to Yale's resilience.
Saturday's action began with a doubles round that went down to the wire. Although Princeton's Alexander Day and Luke Gamble quickly claimed a 6-2 victory at No. 1 doubles, Yale's Photos Photiades and Martin Svenning responded well with a 6-3 win of their own over Princeton's Vives and Wasserman in the No. 2 spot. This upset victory extended Photiades and Svenning's impressive run in doubles this season, improving their record together to 8-2. After splitting the first two doubles matches, both teams looked to the No. 3 doubles spot, where Yale's Jason Brown and Alex Hagermoser battled Princeton's Thomas Colautti and Ben Tso; in a 6-3 match that was ultimately decided by a nervy no-ad deuce point, the Tigers managed to escape the doubles round with a one point lead over the Bulldogs.
After dropping the doubles point, a motivated Yale side began the singles round in promising fashion. Leading the way for the second straight day was sophomore Stefan Doehler, who constructed a comprehensive 6-0, 6-4 victory Princeton's Kial Kaiser at No. 6 singles; after recovering from a serious injury earlier this year, Doehler has rebounded to become a force at the bottom of the Elis' singles lineup, posting a 7-1 record in his last eight matches. After No. 5 player Dennis Wang fell in straight sets and Yale's Martin Svenning came up just short in a 7-5, 6-4 battle with Princeton's Joshua Yablon in the No. 4 spot, however, the Elis were staring at a 3-1 deficit headed into the match's final hour.
Similar to their match the previous day against Penn, the Bulldogs refused to fold under pressure; instead, the remaining singles players – Andrienko, Hagermoser and Ziqi Wang – elevated their game and forced their respective matches into a third set. Unfortunately it was Andrienko who finished first in defeat, falling to the Tigers' Colautti 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 at No. 2 singles; after storming back in style to take the second set, the Bulldog's fatigue may have been the difference in the third. Despite the result, Andrienko can take pride in pushing Colautti, who has excelled for Princeton this year and notched several victories over nationally ranked singles players. Although Colautti's win brought an immediate end to Sunday's match, it should be noted that No. 3 player Alex Hagermoser held a 1-0 third set lead over Princeton's Alexander Day at the time of stoppage, while Ziqi Wang was fighting in a 2-2 third set deadlock at No. 1 singles.
Though the Bulldogs will be disappointed to emerge from their first weekend of Ivy competition without a victory, they showed flashes of tremendous potential and played some of their best tennis in defeat. Yale can only hope to keep improving in the coming weeks; the squad's next match will come at home next Saturday against Ivy League title favorite Columbia.
Report by Cameron Ferguson '18, Yale Sports Publicity
FULL MATCH RESULTS – Princeton 4, Yale 1
Doubles
1. Day/Gamble (P) def. Andrienko/Doehler (Y), 6-2
2. Photiades/Svenning (Y) def. Vives/Wasserman (P), 6-3
3. Colautti/Tso (P) def. J. Brown/Hagermoser (Y), 6-3
Singles
1. Z. Wang (Y) vs. Vives (P), 2-6; 6-2; 2-2, DNF
2. Colautti (P) def. Andrienko (Y), 6-2; 4-6; 6-0
3. Hagermoser (Y) vs. Day (P), 6-4; 3-6; 1-0, DNF
4. Yablon (P) def. Svenning (Y), 7-5; 6-4
5. Gamble (P) def. D. Wang (Y), 6-3; 6-1
6. Doehler (Y) def. Kaiser (P), 6-0; 6-4
