RACINE, Wis. – Led by comebacks in doubles and No. 2 singles, the Carleton College men's tennis team defeated No. 30-ranked Carthage College by a 5-2 tally.
 
The Firebirds (2-1) were on the cusp of claiming the best-of-3 doubles point, having already won 6-1 at the second slot and leading 4-2 at No. 1 doubles and 4-3 at No. 3 doubles. The Knights (7-1) were able to weather the storm as the first-years Aiden Patel and Ezra Bernhard rallied for a 6-4 win at the third slot before the top doubles tandem of Jack Rivkin and Akshay Garapati completed their comeback for a 7-5 victory.
 
"Stunning win at No. 1 doubles by Jack and Akshay," said Carleton head coach Stephan Zweifel. "They have more chemistry than the periodic table."
 
Bernhard was first to win in singles, securing a 6-3, 6-1 result at the fourth slot. Patel followed with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph at No. 3 singles.
 
Jasper Yang dropped the first set at No. 2 singles but bounced back to improve to 7-0 in dual matches this season after a 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5) thriller.
 
"Unbelievable comeback win from Jasper to clinch the match," said Zweifel. "That fellow has more courage than a squirrel crossing a dog park."
 
Garaparti notched the other team point for the Knights thanks to his 6-2, 6-1 win at the sixth slot.
 
Baiyun Jing sent the second set at No. 1 singles to a tiebreaker before falling 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), and Carthage earned its other point when Rivkin retired from the No. 5 singles match.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton's Super Bowl weekend road trip to Wisconsin concludes with an 8:30 a.m. match against Carroll University.