OWATONNA, Minn. – The Carleton College men's tennis team split a pair of non-conference matches on Saturday, falling 5-2 to Carthage College and sweeping Carroll University, 7-0.
Ezra Bernhard,
Baiyun Jing, and
Akshay Garapati each won three matches on the day.
The Knights (7-1) opened the day by taking the doubles point against Carthage, as Garapati and
Jack Rivkin won 6-4 atop the lineup and Bernhard teamed with
Owen Heidtke for a 6-3 victory at the third slot.
Jing provided the other point for Carleton with his 6-2, 6-2 triumph at No. 2 singles.
"(Baiyun) relied on his great conditioning today," said Carleton head coach Stephan Zweifl. "I think it stems from the fact that he signed up for a 401k later this year and did not know what he was getting into."
Three of the other singles matches required tiebreakers, with all three ending up in the Carthage column. Garapati lost 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 at the top spot, while
Zach Leslie dropped a back-and-forth battle at No. 3 singles by a 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3) tally. Bernhard came out on the wrong end of a 7-5, 7-6 (9-7) result at No. 4 singles.
"Carthage is always one of the top teams in the region, and it was a great opportunity to see where we need to make some improvements moving forward," said Zweifel. "I could already see a difference in our playing style in the second match."
Carleton got back on track against Carroll, starting the competition with a sweep of doubles. Garapati and Rivkin won 6-2 atop the lineup, while Leslie and Jing notched a 6-2 win at the second slot. Not to be out-done, Heidtke and Bernhard prevailed at No. 3 doubles by the identical score.
Jing, Leslie, Bernhard, and
Miles Lee secure straight set wins in singles. Garapati added a 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) victory at No. 1 singles, and
Yihe Zhang battled back from a set down to win 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 1-0 (11-9) at the fifth slot.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will face Grinnell College in a non-conference clash on Sunday, Feb. 22
Carthage 5, Carleton 2
Singles competition
1. Francisco Silveira (CARTHAGE) def. #34
Akshay Garapati (CAR) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
2.
Baiyun Jing (CAR) def. Diego Silva (CARTHAGE) 6-2, 6-2
3. Finn Morris (CARTHAGE) def.
Zach Leslie (CAR) 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3)
4. Cyriac Cayuela (CARTHAGE) def.
Ezra Bernhard (CAR) 7-5, 7-6 (9-7)
5. Linus Bangert (CARTHAGE) def.
Jack Rivkin (CAR) 6-2, 6-3
6. Victor Pimenta (CARTHAGE) def.
Owen Heidtke (CAR) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #16
Akshay Garapati/
Jack Rivkin (CAR) def. Finn Morris/Diego Silva (CARTHAGE) 6-4
2. Luca Okino/Victor Pimenta (CARTHAGE) def.
Zach Leslie/
Baiyun Jing (CAR) 6-2
3.
Owen Heidtke/
Ezra Bernhard (CAR) def. Cyriac Cayuela/Francisco Silveira (CARTHAGE) 6-3
Carleton 7, Carroll 0
Singles competition
1. #34
Akshay Garapati (CAR) def. Andrew LaBelle (CU) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8)
2.
Baiyun Jing (CAR) def. Ultrik Gellein (CU) 6-2, 6-2
3.
Zach Leslie (CAR) def. Ryan LaBelle (CU) 6-2, 6-1
4.
Ezra Bernhard (CAR) def. Felix Persson (CU) 6-0, 6-0
5.
Yihe Zhang (CAR) def. David Eman (CU) 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 1-0 (11-9)
6.
Miles Lee (CAR) def. Layton Carls (CU) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1.
Akshay Garapati/
Jack Rivkin (CAR) def. Ryan LaBelle/Ultrik Gellein (CU) 6-2
2.
Zach Leslie/
Baiyun Jing (CAR) def. David Eman/Andrew LaBelle (CU) 6-2
3.
Owen Heidtke/
Ezra Bernhard (CAR) def. Layton Carls/Felix Persson (CU) 6-2
