<wa – The Carleton College men’s tennis team kicked off its annual tour of the Hawkeye State with a convincing 8-1 triumph over Grinnell College. Aaron Goodman (Jr./Minneapolis, Minn./St. Louis Park) celebrated his birthday with wins in both singles and doubles.
The Knights (4-0) used a sweep in doubles to set the tone for the match.
Goodman and Kevin Mei (Sr./Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) combined on a 8-5 win at first doubles, while Kevin Hurley (Sr./Novi, Mich/Univ. of Detroit Jesuit) and Xander Zuczek (Fy./Westerly, R.I./St. Bernard) prevailed by an 8-6 margin at the second slot. Jonas Lindholm-Uzzi (So./Germantown, N.Y./Red Hook) and Leo Vithoontien (Fy./Bangkok, Thailand/Bangkok Patana School) notched an 8-2 decision at the final spot.
Carleton won the top four singles matches in straight sets, with Vithoontien, Mei, Andrew Qi (Jr./Auckland, New Zealand/Saint Kentigern), and Goodman securing the victories. The fifth and sixth slots availed themselves to much more drama.
Sahil Chhugani (So./Rochester, Minn./Century) dropped the opening set before bouncing back to pick up the win at fifth singles 1-6, 6-3, 10-7.
“Like the placement of a verb in a German sentence, Sahil found his game at the last minute,” said Carleton head coach Stephan Zweifel. “It was a typical gritty performance for the kid from Rochester.”
Grinnell’s lone victory of the match came at the sixth slot where the Pioneers recorded a 6-1, 3-6, 13-11 result.
Carleton will visit No. 39-ranked Coe College on Sunday, Feb. 11. That match begins at 10:30 a.m.
BOX SCORE Singles competition
1. Leo Vithoontien (CAR) def. Sriram Sugumaran (GCM) 6-4, 6-0
2. Kevin Mei (CAR) def. Zach Lane (GCM) 6-2, 6-1
3. Andrew Qi (CAR) def. Sam Stickels (GCM) 6-3, 6-1
4. Aaron Goodman (CAR) def. Ben Cobin (GCM) 6-3, 6-2
5. Sahil Chhugani (CAR) def. M.Conlin-Brandenburg (GCM) 1-6, 6-3, 10-7
6. Ishaan Tibrewal (GCM) def. Kevin Hurley (CAR) 6-1, 3-6, 13-11
Doubles competition
1. Kevin Mei/Aaron Goodman (CAR) def. Sriram Sugumaran/Ben Cobin (GCM) 8-5
2. Kevin Hurley/Xander Zuczek (CAR) def. Sam Stickels/M.Conlin-Brandenburg (GCM) 8-6
3. Leo Vithoontien/Jonas Lindholm-Uzzi (CAR) def. Ishaan Tibrewal/Zach Lane (GCM) 8-2