Courtesy of Yale Athletics

The Yale’s men’s tennis team (3–1, 0–0 Ivy) will host St. John’s University (5–1, 0–0 Big East) this Saturday, Feb. 12, and Boston University (0-2, 0-0 Patriot League) on Sunday, Feb. 13, at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center. Meanwhile, the women’s team (2–2, 0–0 Ivy) will travel to Cornell to play at the ECAC Indoor Championship. The ECAC Tournament kicks off on Friday, Feb. 11 and will run through until Sunday.

For both teams, this weekend marks the first collegiate clashes after a challenging campaign in the Midwest. The men’s team won 6–1 against Butler University (3–0, 0–0 Big East) in Indianapolis, but fell 4–3 against Indiana University (3–1, 0–0 Big Ten). The face-off against Indiana marked the Blue and White’s first loss in the spring season. 

In an interview with the News, men’s captain Arnav Dhingra ’22 mentioned that this start of conference play presents well-known and uncommon externalities. Dhingra commented that the season’s starting matches are especially challenging and important for the rookies, who are continuously adapting to the collegiate playing environment. On top of that, this will be the Bulldogs’ first full season after 2019-20, when the COVID-19 pandemic stopped all college athletic tournaments.

However, despite these challenges, Dhingra pointed out that all players have been showcasing remarkable improvements in their rhythm and mentality. He also noted that the team has the potential to evolve exponentially on the court. Moreover, when questioned about the next matches, Dhingra affirmed that the team is more confident and mentally prepared and reinforced their commitment to “get the Ws.”

The women’s team fell 4–3 against the Hoosiers (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) and 6–1 against Notre Dame University (5-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast). 

“Our team has a lot to build on from this weekend and the losses give us more motivation to be ready for practice this week and to prepare for an exciting week ahead,” women’s team captain Caroline Dunleavy ’22 said. Dunleavy also added that the team has a lot to learn from the losses this past weekend and will use them as fuel for a great tournament at the ECACs. 

Mirabelle Brettkelly ’25 reinforced her captain’s words. She noted that, despite the challenges encountered against Notre Dame and Indiana, the team is committed to “be super loud and supportive” throughout the next matches. Brettkelly put on a thrilling performance last weekend, winning both of her singles matches.

The ECAC Championship features all the eight Ivy League schools, and will serve as a thermometer for the team to assess its performance ahead of the Ivy League season, which will start on April 2. Yale is seeded fourth and plays against fifth-seed Columbia on Friday, Feb. 11, at 11 am. 

The winner of the match will play against Princeton, the top seed, or Cornell (No. 8) on Saturday.