ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Carleton College men's tennis team absorbed its first setback of the season, falling 7-2 in a neutral-site match against Carthage College. Twins Jasper Yang and Jerome Yang notched victories in singles for the Knights.
 
"We ran up against one of the best teams in our region today," said Carleton head coach Stephan Zweifel, "but I give our players a lot of credit for battling and making this a very competitive contest. Lots of positives and lessons learned today."
 
The Firebirds (2-0) claimed all three doubles matches, prevailing 8-3 at the top spot and 8-4 at the other two slots
 
In solo play, Carleton (5-1) notched its first team point via Jerome Yang's 6-4, 6-1 triumph at No. 6 singles. Carthage won at No. 5 singles, and Jasper Yang kept the Knights alive as he rallied for a 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 1-0 (10-8) victory at the fourth slot.
 
"Phenomenal performances by the Canadian duo of Jasper and Jerome," said Zweifel. "We are fortunate that their parents refused to drive them to the early ice rink time when they were growing up."
 
Both Yang brothers are 5-0 in singles play this season.
 
Unfortunately, Carthage was too strong at the top of the lineup and prevailed at the No. 1 through No. 3 slots. The tightest match came at No. 2 singles where Baiun Jing lost in a super tiebreaker by a 6-4, 5-7, 0-1 (6-10) margin.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will play University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday, Feb. 10. That 3:00 p.m. match will be played at Owatonna (Minn.) Tennis Center.