ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – After getting tested during doubles play, the Carleton College men's tennis team pulled away in singles to secure an 8-1 victory at Bethel University.
 
"We had to battle the wind and a tenacious Bethel squad in doubles to start the match," said Carleton head coach Stephan Zweifel, "but once we moved to singles, the guys showed the same confidence as Elon Musk taking over social media."
 
The Knights (13-5, 7-1 MIAC) notched 8-5 wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Yuv Kataria (So./Kolkata, India/Weil Academy & College Prep) and Aniketh Vipparla (So./Cary, N.C./Green Hope) picked up their eighth doubles triumph at the second slot, while Bence Kisgeczi (Sr./Budapest, Hungary/Szent István) and  Noah Mueller (Jr./Dubai, UAE/German International School Dubai) stayed undefeated as a pairing at the third spot.
 
Bethel claimed its only team point at No. 1 doubles when Carleton's pairing had to pull out with the scored knotted 7-7.
 
Carleton won all six singles matches in straight sets.
 
Tarm Rojanasoonthon (Fy./Bangkok, Thailand/Chulalongkorn) won 6-2, 6-1 and improved to 13-2 at No. 1 singles this season.
 
Kataria, Xander Roti (Sr./Locust Valley, N.Y./Friends Academy), and Aswath Viswanathan (Jr./Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) each prevailed 6-1, 6-1 as they contributed triumphs at the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 slots. For Roti, it was his team-high 14th singles victory of the campaign.
 
Tate Fuller (Fy./Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) secured a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles, becoming the fifth Knight to win at least 10 singles matches this year.
 
Will Stepanski (Jr./Villa Park, Calif./Villa Park) posted his first 6-0, 6-0 result of the season.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton closes the regular season at Macalester College on Friday, April 29. That match was shifted a day earlier due to the forecast calling for rainy weather on Saturday. Both teams will enter the contest—which begins at 6:45 p.m.—with 7-1 records in conference action. The winner will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs.
 
Carleton College 8, Bethel (MN) 1
Singles competition
1. Tarm Rojanasoonthon (CAR) def. Erik Beckers (BU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Yuv Kataria (CAR) def. Jason Reilly (BU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Xander Roti (CAR) def. Jacob Lukkarila (BU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Tate Fuller (CAR) def. Luke Wyly (BU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Aswath Viswanathan (CAR) def. Steven Benoy (BU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Will Stepanski (CAR) def. Brett Eliason (BU) 6-0, 6-0
 
Doubles competition
1. Erik Beckers/Jason Reilly (BU) def. William Walsh/Aswath Viswanathan (CAR) 7-7, retired
2. Yuv Kataria/Aniketh Vipparla (CAR) def. Jacob Lukkarila/Luke Wyly (BU) 8-5
3. Bence Kisgeczi/Noah Mueller (CAR) def. Steven Benoy/Andrew Holmes (BU) 8-5