Ten days after a solid team showing at the West Point Fall Quad, the men’s tennis team is set to begin the United States Tennis Association (USTA)/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional Championships, hosted by Yale.

After a slow start to the season, the Bulldogs have steadily improved over the past few tournaments. The Elis notched a particularly impressive performance at West Point two weeks ago, where they went 24–7 overall against the competition. Alex Hagermoser ’17, Tyler Lu ’17 and Zach Krumholz ’15 went undefeated in singles match play and Jason Brown ’16, Patrick Chase ’14 and Kyle Dawson ’14 won all of their doubles matches.

Lu is in the midst of a seven-match unbeaten streak in singles after winning his bracket at the Ivy Plus Invitational in late September. While his steady performance thus far has been a pleasant surprise for the team and coaching staff, Lu isn’t the only freshman who has played well. Hagermoser’s success at West Point adds to a fall season that includes a semifinal appearance at the Princeton-Farnsworth Invitational, while Photos Photiades ’17 also picked up wins at West Point after being forced to sit out the first tournament of the season because of NCAA eligibility regulations.

“Our freshmen continue to shine and we believe that they can continue their success this weekend,” Dawson said. “Tyler Lu has been playing especially well and we think he can continue that trend.”

Lu and Photiades will both feature as main draw entries for Yale this weekend, along with Dawson and Martin Svenning ’16. Lu’s success has earned him the ninth seed out of 16. Brown, Daniel Faierman ’15, Hagermoser and Krumholz start their qualifying matches Thursday night for a chance to join their teammates in the main draw.

The Bulldogs are in a good position for the doubles draw as well. Chase, the team’s most experienced doubles player, was able to win his three matches at West Point with three separate partners. Brown, Krumholz, Faierman, Lu, and Hagermoser also picked up doubles wins at West Point to give the team momentum heading into the Regional Championships.

The Bulldogs have three doubles teams entered in the main draw. Seniors Chase and Dawson will combine for the most seasoned Yale pair. Brown and Hagermoser will play together and Lu and Svenning will make up an underclassman combination.

Apart from showcasing the best collegiate talent in the Northeast, the USTA/ITA Northeast Regional Championships will send its champion to the USTA/ITA Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, This tournament will feature top talent from across the country Nov. 7–10 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

The Bulldogs will first focus on the task at hand and look to turn in a solid showing at the Regional Championships. Brown, Chase, Svenning and Matt Saiontz ’15 all notched victories at the event last year.

“We have been working extremely hard on and off the court to prepare for regionals,” Krumholz said. “If everyone competes and executes well, the results should take care of themselves.”

The tournament begins tonight at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center.