< days after losing its first match of the season, the Carleton College men’s tennis team rebounded with an impressive 6-3 regional win over Grinnell College. Though the Pioneers won at the top of the line-up, Carleton’s depth proved too much, as the Knights won #2 and #3 doubles in convincing fashion and swept #3-6 singles without dropping a set.
“Today was an excellent win over a tough regional opponent,” said Carleton head coach Stephan Zweifel. “We had to rely heavily on the depth of our singles and doubles line up.”
In a battle of two of the region’s top players, 17th-ranked Juan Carlos Perez of Grinnell topped 12th-ranked Peter Dunn at first singles 6-4, 6-3. Dimitry Glumov defeated Dan Vollman at second singles, and the top two Grinnell netmen also topped their Knight counterparts at first doubles, but that was as far as the Pioneer run would continue, as Carleton showcased its depth and came away with the victory.
Colin Russell and Paul Cooper teamed up for an 8-2 win at second doubles, while Winston Park and Austin Jiang triumphed 8-4 in the #3 contest.
Despite the match being held indoors, the performance of the Knights’ stars was blinding for Zweifel. “I had to put on sunglasses to shield my eyes from the brilliant play at #2 and #3 doubles,” he said.
The Knights’ inspired play was mirrored in third through sixth singles, where Park, ranked 23rd regionally, led the way with a 6-1, 6-1 victory in the #3 match followed by Alexander Chin’s 6-4, 6-2 triumph at fourth singles. Jiang kept things going, prevailing 7-5, 6-3 in fifth singles, and Cooper finished things off with an exciting 7-5, 6-4 triumph in the #6 contest.
“Although Paul can be as reckless on the tennis court as Lindsay Lohan at a cast party, he always manages to find a way to finish his match unharmed,” noted Zweifel.
After posting five straight victories to open the season, the team suffered their first hiccup of the year Friday night, falling 5-4 to University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Though the Knights, the fifth-ranked team in region and 18th nationally, won four of six singles matchups, the Blugolds, ranked 13th regionally, took all three doubles contests to come away with the victory.
Carleton will look to continue their winning ways when they wrap up their winter season Saturday with a 2 p.m. match against University of Sioux Falls in Lakeville.
-Courtesy of Sports Information