NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The No. 33-ranked Carleton College men's tennis team got off to a lead against visiting Luther College, but the Knights saw the Norse storm back in singles to secure a 5-2 victory.
 
Carleton (12-2) earned the doubles point after Aiden Patel and Ezra Bernhard prevailed 6-2 at the third slot in advance of the Knights' top tandem — Akshay Garapati and Jack Rivkin — coming back from a break point to win 6-4 at No. 1 doubles. Luther (12-5) registered a 6-4 victory at No. 2 doubles.
 
Garapati gave the Knights a 2-0 lead in the team competition after posting a 6-2, 6-3 triumph at No. 6 singles. That result lifted his season ledger to 10-0 in singles play.
 
"Akshay's confidence was on full display today," said Carleton head coach Stephan Zweifel. "He does not need a GPS; he decides where he is."
 
The remaining singles matches required a total of five tiebreakers, with only one of those falling in favor of the Knights.
 
Abhay Chhabra began the Norse comeback with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 win over Patel at No. 3 singles. Juan Hernandez Herrera picked up a 6-4, 6-2 win over Bernhard at No. 4 singles, and Joao Benvenutti out-lasted Jasper Yang 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 1-0 (10-8) at No. 2 singles to give Luther a 3-2 lead in the team competition.
 
Zach Leslie dropped a tight battle with Eli Young at No. 5 singles by a 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) margin. All-American and two-time A-R-C MVP Luke Westholder then topped Baiyun Jing 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 atop the singles lineup.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton wraps up its three-match homestand by hosting Macalester College at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 12.