TENNIS: Bulldogs prepare to take the court, adapt to coaching shakeup
Previewing the 2024-25 Yale men’s and women’s tennis squads as they prepare for action this week.
Yale Athletics
Yale Tennis opens its fall season this weekend for the men’s team this Saturday at the Brown Invitational, while the women’s team welcomes Rutgers, Boston University and Brown University to the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center next weekend.
On the men’s side, the Bulldogs boast eight returners, while also welcoming three new members to the squad.
The newcomers consist of transfer Jason Shuler ’28 out of Scarsdale, N.Y., Edward Liao ’28 hailing from Commack, N.Y., and Krish Gupta ’28 of Fremont, Calif.
The Bulldogs welcome back two sophomores from California, Dylan Tsoi ’27 and Jim Ji ’27. Entering their junior year, Eric Li ’26 of Skillman, N.J., and Vignesh Gogineni ’26 of Mason, Ohio, make up the junior class.
The four seniors on the team are Luke Neal ’25 from Larkspur, Calif., Walker Oberg ’25 of Weston, Mass., Renaud Lefevre ’25 of Los Angeles and team captain Aidan Reilly ’25 out of Stamford, Conn.
The Bulldogs enter this season led by the ITA 50th-ranked singles player Gogineni and the 51st-ranked doubles team of Gogineni and Reilly.
“I’m really excited for the upcoming season. We have lots of exciting talent in our incoming recruits along with returning players improving their games,” Gogineni told the News. Gogineni told the News that the team’s dynamic is “strong” and their work ethic is pushing them towards their main goal: to make the NCAA tournament, which they haven’t done for at least 30 years.
“I had a solid sophomore campaign, but I know I’m capable of more,” Gogineni said. “My personal goals are to make the NCAA individual tournament at the end of the fall. We have a very unique group that I believe is capable of achieving something special this year.”
In addition, the Bulldogs will have a new man at the helm in the interim.
Head Coach Chris Drake recently announced that he would be stepping away from the program to focus on his health after a bout with long COVID-19. Interim Head Coach Eduardo Ugalde will take over in the meantime until Drake returns to his role. Ugalde, a graduate of North Carolina Wesleyan College, led his team to four NCAA Team National appearances. He has previously been on the coaching staff at Alabama and Duke before joining the Bulldogs in 2021.
Drake emphasized his confidence in Ugalde, saying in an email to “Friends of Yale Tennis” that he has “complete confidence in Coach Ugalde to lead the program in my absence and in the players to continue pursuing the goals they have set for themselves and the team.”
It is currently unknown what the timeline is for Drake’s return to coaching.
The men’s tennis team looks to get off to a strong start to the season when they travel to the Brown Invitational taking place on Sept. 14 and Sept. 15. They then travel to Cambridge for Harvard’s annual Chowderfest tournament on Sept. 20.
On the other side, the women’s tennis team welcomes two new first years as a part of their 18th-ranked recruiting class in the nation: Julia Werdiger ’28 from New York and Angela Huang ’28 from Wexford, Pa.
The trio of sophomores consists of Orly Ogilvy ’27 from Mississauga, Ontario, Erin Ha ’27 from Tenafly, N.J. and Shyla Aggarwal ’27 out of Cincinnati, Ohio. The junior class makes up the second trio on the team, with Sophia Zaslow ’26 of Holmdel, N.J., Ann Wright Guerry ’26 from Atlanta, Ga. and Rebecca Lynn ’26 hailing from Newport Beach, Calif.
Their team is rounded out by two seniors, Mirabelle Brettkelly ’25 from San Francisco, Calif., and team captain Jamie Kim ’25 from Mason, Ohio.
“I’m really excited about this year, especially because of our unique team situation. Last year, we had no seniors so we’ve essentially got the same team back, plus two new first-years,” Kim told the News. “We had strong results last year, which makes it exciting for the returning players to come back and build on that success and for the first years to step into this environment.”
In regards to her team’s goals for the season, Kim also said, “Our big goal is to win Ivies in the spring, but right now, we are focused on the matches we have for our fall season and continuing to develop as a team as we prepare for the spring.”
The ITA 55th-ranked women’s squad kicks off their season next weekend at home against Rutgers on Sept. 20, Boston University on Sept. 21 and Brown on Sept. 22.