BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The No. 39-ranked Carleton College men's tennis team won its sixth consecutive match, earning a 7-0 triumph over UC-Santa Cruz, a program that has gone to 34 of the last 41 NCAA Championships.
 
"Today's win against a team of the caliber of UCSC is a testament to the hard work the guys have done all year," said Carleton head coach Stephan Zweifel. "As we are fond of saying, 'Everybody wants the view, but not the climb'."
 
The Knights (9-1) began the match by winning twice to claim the point for the best-of-3 doubles series. Zach Leslie and Baiyun Jing got things started with a 6-1 result at No. 2 doubles, and Jack Rivkin and Akshay Garapati followed with a 6-4 triumph atop the lineup. The Banana Slugs (2-1) won at No. 3 doubles by a 6-4 margin.
 
Carleton won all six singles matches to complete the shutout.
 
Jing prevailed in an amazing battle at No. 1 singles by a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6) tally.
 
"(Baiyun) was playing three-dimensional chess out there," Zweifel said. "We were watching a master solve a Rubic's Cube blindfolded."
 
Leslie added a come-from-behind triumph at No. 5 singles, recovering for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
 
The four other matches went into the Knights' column in straight sets. Jasper Yang improved to 9-0 in dual matches as he won 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2 singles. Aidan Patel contributed his sixth straight solo victory, this time by a 6-1, 6-2 tally at No. 3 singles, and Ezra Bernhard notched a 6-4, 6-3 win at the fourth slot. Garapati recorded his sixth consecutive victory, a 6-2, 6-2 result at No. 6 singles.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton heads to University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for a 1:00 p.m. match on Saturday, Feb. 22.