Claremont, CA- The Men's tennis team took on Gustavus Adolphus, who are ranked 12 in the nation. In doubles, it was all Ephs at the one spot, as
Nicholas Chen and
Matt Kandel dominated with sharp returns and emphatic volleys. Two doubles also went the way of the Ephs, with first time pairing of
Shawn Berdia and
Kush Anand winning 8-6 and playing big time tennis in the biggest points. Three doubles was a loss.
In singles play, Liu came out solid, winning the first set, and after that he never looked back, putting the Ephs us 3-1 overall. Kandel would come next, winning a three set battle. Chen then finished his opponent in three sets, and Berdia, despite losing the first set 6-1, decided to heavily consider, and following that consideration, proceeded to double bagel his opponent in the last two sets. He said after the match, "Felt like the time to toss a couple bagels in the bag." Chong finished the day with a straight sets win, capped off with a serve-volley-tweener-around-the-net beauty. The final score was 7-2 for the Ephs.
The following day the Ephs faced off against George Fox and doubles proved to be troublesome for the Ephs, as they found themselves down 2-1. Chen and Kandel continued their solid form, winning 8-5, and the other two courts both went to tiebreakers. Both George Fox teams came out firing in the tiebreaker, and they held on for two wins. In singles, Kandel found himself down 3-1 early, but then similar to Berdia the day before, decided to consider locking in, and rattled off 11 straight games to even the match at 2-2.
Next came Liu who proved too solid for his opponent, winning in straights. Berdia and Chen then finished simultaneously, and the Ephs were up 5-2.
Andrew Chong said later of the win, "Some people thought we would have a let down today, or that the silky seven couldn't perform day in day out, but nah nah, we are a small but tight team and I'm excited for NESCAC play to resume next week."
Doubles (Gustavus)
Chen/Kandel (WIL) def. Gohl/Haddorff (GAC) 8-4
Anand/Berdia (WIL) def. Siviero/Christensen (GAC) 8-6
Friddinger/Knutson def. Liu/Chong (WIL) 8-1
Singles (Gustavus)
Kandel (WIL) def. Siviero (GAC) 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
Berdia (WIL) def. Christensen (GAC) 1-6, 6-0, 6-0
Chen (WIL) def. Gohl (GAC) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
De Camargo Costa (GAC) def. Anand (WIL) 6-2, 6-4
Liu (CMS) def. Knutson (GAC) 6-2, 6-2
Chong (WIL) def. Bergmeyer (GAC) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles (George Fox)
Chen/Kandel (WIL) def. Nana/Pashayan (GF) 8-5
Mizerski/Schmassmann (GF) def. Anand/Berdia (WIL) 8-7(5)
Fujimori/Moore def. Liu/Chong (WIL) 8-7(3)
Singles (George Fox)
Kandel (WIL) def. Mizerski (GF) 6-3, 6-0
Berdia (WIL) def. Vahag Pashayan (GF) 6-3, 6-1
Chen (WIL) def. Fujimori (GF) 6-1, 6-3
Lars Schmassmann (GF) def. Anand (WIL) 6-2, 6-4
Liu (WIL) def. Allebanna (GF) 6-3, 6-1
Nana (GF) def. Chong (WIL) 3-6, 6-4, 10-5
