Following an inauspicious start to the fall season at the Princeton-Farnsworth Invitational, the men’s tennis team looked to build momentum through the remaining tournaments of the fall season. After finishing match play at the West Point Fall Quad this Sunday, the Elis have reason to be pleased with their progress.
Alex Hagermoser ’17, Tyler Lu ’17 and Zach Krumholz ’15 went undefeated in singles, Jason Brown ’16, Patrick Chase ’14 and captain Kyle Dawson ’14 did not drop a match in the doubles bracket, and the Bulldogs cruised to a 24–7 aggregate record over the weekend at the West Point Fall Quad tournament, hosted by Army.
Yale opened the weekend with singles and doubles matches again St. Bonaventure University, sweeping the singles slate and taking three of four doubles matches from the Bona Wolves. Following their matchup with St. Bonaventure, the Bulldogs faced a formidable Boston College squad in singles play. Hagermoser and Krumholz were sharp in knocking off Michael McGinnis and Aiden McNulty, while Lu defeated Phil Nelson of the Eagles 6–2, 6–4.
“We went about preparing for this weekend just as we have in the past,” Dawson said. “That being said, a major goal heading into the weekend was to improve our doubles. We all know that is the area where we need to keep improving.”
The Elis did just that on Sunday, winning four of six doubles matches combined against Boston College and Army. Chase and Lu beat Michael McGinnis and Philip Nelson of Boston College, 8–5, Brown and Hagermoser took down another Eagles pair, Aiden McNulty and Jonathan Raude, 8–3 and the Elis took two of three from Army in the afternoon. The Elis almost made it five of six on the day for doubles, but the Eagles team of Kyle Childree and Matt Wagner edged Krumholz and Daniel Faierman ’15, 9–8.
“The most impressive part of the weekend was how we competed,” Dawson said. “The team’s energy and focus were at high levels on both days and I think that really allowed us to have the success that we did.”
Following the doubles on Sunday, Yale swept a slate of seven singles matches against Army. Lu, Dawson, Krumholz and Faierman raced to two-set victories, while Hagermoser, Brown, and Photos Photiades ’17 put away their opponents in three.
“Alex [Hagermoser] continued to impress, but I think Krumholz and Faierman were stellar,” Dawson said. “They played high in the lineup and performed very well. Both continue to stick to their game plans which will be key when the spring season hits.”
The Elis are peaking at the right time, as they head back to New Haven to host the United States Tennis Association (USTA) / Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Regional Championships.
“Everyone is playing better each weekend,” Krumholz said. “We will continue to work hard and peak for our next big tournament: regionals.”
The regional championships will be hosted at Yale starting Oct. 17.