SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Carleton College men's tennis team (2-0) started with a sweep in doubles en route to a 6-1 victory at University of Wisconsin-Superior.
 
The squads used the NCAA's new best-of-7 format for non-conference matches, meaning that the side that wins at least two of the three doubles matches gets one team point, with the other six points coming from the singles matches.
 
Jack Rivkin and Akshay Garapati prevailed at No. 1 doubles by a 6-1 score. Zach Leslie and Baiyun Jing added a 7-5 triumph at the second slot, while Aiden Patel and Ezra Bernhard completed the doubles sweep by a 6-4 tally.
 
In solo action, Jing came out on top in a tight tussle at No. 1 singles, edging Igor Guetten Chaves by a 7-5 7-6 (9-7) score. At No. 2 singles, Jasper Yang won a tiebeaker over Sree Sharan Kanugovi to take the opening set 7-6 (7-2), then dropped the second set 6-2 before claiming the super tiebreaker 1-0 (10-5).
 
"I was a little concerned when Jasper dropped the second set," said Carleton head coach Stephan Zweifel, "but he demonstrated the courage of a squirrel crossing a dog park during the crucial superbreaker."
 
Patel, Bernhard, and Leslie each secured straight-set triumphs at No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 singles, respectively. Patel won 6-1, 6-4 over Yash Chhabra, while Bernhard topped Mateo Sebastian Abarca Pino 6-4, 6-2. Leslie cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Brandon Chu at the fifth slot.
 
The Yellowjackets were able to avoid a sweep as Jacob Zacharias prevailed over Miles Lee by a 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 (10-5) score at No. 6 singles.
 
Up next for the Knights
Carleton concludes the competition portion of its fall slate with a 10:30 a.m. matcha at College of St. Scholastica on Sunday, Oct. 6.