The men’s tennis team won two matches in less than 24 hours this weekend, earning victories over both the University of Maryland–Baltimore County and Navy.
The trip to Annapolis began with an 8:30 p.m. matchup against UMBC Friday evening, a contest the Bulldogs (4-3) took 4-3. The Elis took the courts again just 16 hours later but seemed unfazed by the quick turnaround, defeating the Midshipmen 5-2.
“Not everyone played their best, but we fought hard and had a lot energy, which helped us get the wins,” John Huang ’13 said.
The doubles matchups proved the deciding factor in Friday’s win, as the Bulldogs split the singles matches, while taking two of the three doubles duels. Marc Powers ’13, playing in the top spot for Yale, took a 6-1, 6-2 victory, while classmate Daniel Hoffman ’13 won 6-2, 7-6 (4). Joel Samaha ’12 reversed those scores in his win, beating UMBC’s Mwali Phiri 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Samaha was also victorious in doubles, pairing with Calvin Bennett ’11 to take an 8-4 win in No. 2 doubles. Hoffman also grabbed two wins on the day, pairing with captain Connor Dawson ’10 to earn an 8-6 victory in No. 3 doubles.
When the Bulldogs took the court to face off against Midshipmen Saturday, they did so with a significantly different lineup than the one UMBC saw Friday night — but with the same results.
Huang took a 6-2, 6-4 win in No. 1 singles, while Hoffman (6-3, 4-6, 6-1) and Samaha (6-7, 6-2, 3-2) followed up Friday night’s performance with equally strong showings in No. 3 and 5 singles, respectively. Erik Blumenkranz ’12 also took a singles win, defeating Jeremy New 7-5, 6-4 in the No. 4 spot.
On the doubles side, Blumenkranz and Samaha teamed to take an 8-5 win in first doubles, while Dawson and Huang earned an 8-3 win in the third spot.
“Playing on the road is always difficult,” Blumenkranz said. “These matches were especially hard considering we did not have our full lineup.”
The Bulldogs will be back at home this weekend for matches against Stony Brook and Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, and Marist on Sunday.
“I think right now we’ve all been very up and down, and we haven’t all played well consistently,” Huang said. “Once we all start playing the way we’re capable of we’ll be in good shape.”