WINONA, Minn. – After a 16-week break from competition, the Carleton College men's tennis team returned to action and won a pair of matches on Sunday. The Knights swept both Saint Mary's University and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse by 9-0 scores.
Carleton improved to 4-0 for the 2022-23 season with a 3-0 ledger against MIAC opponents.
"I was very impressed with our doubles effort today," said Carleton head coach
Stephan Zweifel, who employed five different doubles pairings in the two matches. "We showed the same excitement and energy as the nuclear fusion announcement."
Carleton 9, Saint Mary's 0
The Knights swept doubles in relatively easy fashion.
Ozzie Viswanathan (Sr./Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and
Zach Leslie (Fy./Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn) won 8-2 atop the doubles lineup, followed by an 8-1 triumph for
Yuv Kataria (Jr./Kolkata, India/Weil Academy & College Prep) and
Jack Rivkin (Fy./Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) at the second slot and an 8-3 victory by
Noah Mueller (Sr./Dubai, UAE/German International School Dubai) and
Aniketh Vipparla (Jr./Cary, N.C./Green Hope) at No. 3 doubles.
The six singles matches also went into the Carleton column in straight sets.
Kataria prevailed at No. 1 singles by a 6-1, 6-4 tally.
Cooper Kline (Fy./Los Angeles, Calif./The Buckley School) secured a 6-4, 7-5 victory at the second spot, while Vipparla notched a 6-2, 6-4 win at the third spot. Mueller posted a 6-0, 6-2 result at No. 4 singles, while
Will Stepanski (Sr./Villa Park, Calif./Villa Park) cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 triumph at the fifth slot, and Rivkin won 6-2, 6-1 at the final spot in the lineup.
Carleton 9, UW-La Crosse 0
The Knights once again grabbed the early lead with a doubles sweep.
Viswanathan and Leslie notched their second doubles triumph of the day, this one by an 8-1 margin at the No. 2 slot. Kataria and Vipparla prevailed 8-2 at the third spot before
Tarm Rojanasoonthon (So./Bangkok, Thailand/Chulalongkorn) and
Tate Fuller (So./Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) saw their first action of the day and registered an 8-3 win at the top of the doubles lineup.
Rojanasoonthon set the tone in singles with a dominating 6-0, 6-0 triumph at the No. 1 slot.
"Tarm can systematically probe for an opponent's weakness like a velociraptor inspecting an electric fence," explained Zweifel.
Leslie added a 6-0, 6-3 result at the third slot before Fuller notched a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 2 singles. Kline handled his opponent at No. 4 singles by a 6-3, 6-3 tally. Viswanathan picked up a 6-4, 6-4 win at the fifth slot, and Stepanski added his second singles triumph of the day, this one by a 6-4, 6-1 score.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton heads one state to the east for a pair of matches next weekend. The Knights visit regionally ranked Carthage College on Saturday, Feb. 4 before facing No. 34 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Sunday.
