NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Thanks an edge in doubles play, the Carleton College men's tennis team defeated perennial regionally-ranked Luther College 5-4 at the Pat Lamb Tennis Courts on Sunday. A come-from-behind victory by Aswath Viswanathan (So./Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and Aniketh Vipparla (Fy./Cary, N.C./Green Hope) at third doubles proved crucial.
 
Luther (7-4 overall) advanced to the most recent NCAA Championships and won at first doubles 8-7 (5). Carleton (3-0 overall) secured 8-4 triumphs from both the Viswanathan-Vipparla pairing as well as the duo of William Walsh (Jr./San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights) and Yuv Kataria (Fy./Kolkata, India/Weil Academy & College Prep) at the second slot.
 
Viswanathan and Vipparla trailed 3-0 before storming back for the victory.
 
"The shot selection in their first three games were as poorly planned as a trip to Cancun during a pandemic," said Carleton head coach Stephan Zweifel, "but Ozzie and Aniketh made some wise corrections, and sailed through the rest of their match."
 
The 2-1 lead following doubles proved to be the difference as the two sides split the six singles matches.
 
Viswanathan was a late addition to the singles lineup but cruised to a 6-0, 6-4 victory at sixth singles. Noah Mueller (So./Dubai, UAE/German International School Dubai) added a 6-2, 6-1 result at the fifth spot, and Leo Vithoontien (Sr./Bangkok, Thailand/Bangkok Patana School) prevailed 6-1, 6-3 atop the singles lineup.
 
Cole Schneider and Max Loen both rallied from a set down to win at second and third singles, respectively, while the fourth singles match required a first-set tiebreaker.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS
Carleton returns to conference action and hosts Saint Mary's University at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21.
 
BOX SCORE
Singles competition
1. Leo Vithoontien (CAR) def. Nyathi Motlojoa (LUTM) 6-1, 6-3
2. Cole Schneider (LUTM) def. Xander Roti (CAR) 4-6, 6-3, 11-9
3. Max Loen (LUTM) def. Yuv Kataria (CAR) 1-6, 6-2, 10-8
4. Brook Norwood (LUTM) def. Aniketh Vipparla (CAR) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
5. Noah Mueller (CAR) def. Sakchham Karki (LUTM) 6-2, 6-1
6. Aswath Viswanathan (CAR) def. Dylan Determan (LUTM) 6-0, 6-4
 
Doubles competition
1. Cole Schneider/Nyathi Motlojoa (LUTM) def. Leo Vithoontien/Xander Zuczek (CAR) 8-7 (10-5)
2. William Walsh/Yuv Kataria (CAR) def. Brook Norwood/Max Loen (LUTM) 8-4
3. Aswath Viswanathan/Aniketh Vipparla (CAR) def. Sakchham Karki/Ryan Ortega (LUTM) 8-4