Box Score LAKE GENEVA, Wis. – Despite wins by
Ozzie Viswanathan (Sr./Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) in both singles and doubles, the Carleton College men's tennis team absorbed its first setback of the season, dropping a tight 5-4 match against No. 34-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Carleton (5-1) fell behind during doubles, with the lone team point coming from Viswanthan and
Zach Leslie (Fy./Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn), who registered an 8-4 win at the No. 2 slot.
Tarm Rojanasoonthon (So./Bangkok, Thailand/Chulalongkorn) and
Tate Fuller (So./Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) gave their nationally-ranked opponents a battle atop the lineup before falling 8-6 after being unable to break the Warhawks on some deuce points. It was a similar story for
Yuv Kataria (Jr./Kolkata, India/Weil Academy & College Prep) and
Aniketh Vipparla (Jr./Cary, N.C./Green Hope) at No. 3 singles, where the hosts picked up an 8-4 victory.
In singles, Viswanathan registered a 6-1, 6-4 victory at the fifth slot, while
Cooper Kline (Fy./Los Angeles, Calif./The Buckley School) improved to 5-0 this season with another straight-sets triumph, this one by a 6-4, 6-2 margin, at No. 6 singles. UW-Whitewater (2-1) picked up a team point following a three-set win at the No. 4 spot.
The top of the Warhawks' lineup included three regionally-ranked singles players, but the Knights played that trio close. Rojanasoonthon won a great battle atop the lineup in a matchup of nationally-ranked foes. Ranked No. 21 in the country, he edged No. 39-ranked John Zakowski 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4).
"Tarm had the same glint in his eye during the third set as a DMV employee when you arrive without all of your paperwork," said Carleton head coach
Stephan Zweifel.
Fuller rallied from a set down to send the No. 2 singles match the distance, where Luke VanDonslear, the No. 14 player in the region, prevailed 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3. The No. 3 singles match also required a tiebreaker as UWW's Cole Lindwall—ranked No. 18 in the central region—edged Kataria by a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) ledger.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will face University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday, Feb. 11, in a neutral site match in Rochester, Minn.
