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Zhang
Winston Zhang screams and celebrates point against Washington & Lee
3
Washington and Lee WLU (2-1)
6
Winner Swarthmore Men's Tennis SWATMT (2-0)
Washington and Lee WLU
(2-1)
3
Final
6
Swarthmore Men's Tennis SWATMT
(2-0)
Winner

Match Recap: Men's Tennis |

No. 13 Men’s Tennis Earns Nationally-Ranked Win in Spring Debut

SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The No. 13 Swarthmore College men's tennis team opened its spring schedule with a nationally-ranked victory over No. 32 Washington & Lee University, 6-3, on Sunday.

Michael Melnikov and Max Lindstrom led the charge with victories in both doubles and singles action. Melnikov paired with Utham Koduri for a victory in top doubles, while Max Lindstrom and Rushil Patel earned a doubles-clinching win in No. 3 action. Melnikov and Lindstrom then opened singles competition with a pair of wins. Melnikov captured one of the biggest victories of his young career with a win over the eighth-ranked player in the nation.

Winston Zhang clinched victory for Swarthmore with a wild comeback in No. 4 singles. The first-year dropped the opening set and fell behind early in the second set, before rallying back to win the match in the third set. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
DOUBLES
- Last year's national doubles runner-up Melnikov/ Koduri picked up where they left off with a hard-fought victory over a tough pairing from Washington & Lee. After splitting the first six games, the Garnet duo pulled ahead with five-unanswered games to claim the match, 8-3. 

- The Generals tied things up with a victory in No. 2 doubles over Zhang/ Andres Fente. The Garnet fought back late in the match, but were unable to force a tiebreaker as they fell 8-6. However, Swarthmore responded as the No. 3 pairing of Patel/ Lindstrom clawed back to earn a doubles advantage for the Garnet. Patel/ Lindstrom fell behind by two games late in the set, 5-3, but turned things around to force a tiebreaker. Behind excellent serving from Patel, the Garnet claimed the final three points of the tiebreaker to win the match 8[7]-7[4]. 
 


HOW IT HAPPENED
SINGLES
- Melnikov opened singles action with a victory, 6-2, 6-4, against the eighth-ranked competitor in the nation. The sophomore ran away with the first set after claiming the final three games. Melnikov then battled his way through a challenging second set, after capturing the final game to avoid a tiebreaker. 

- Lindstrom built on his momentum from doubles play with a victory in No. 2 singles, 6-3, 6-2. The sophomore earned the final three games in the opening set to pull ahead of his challenger, before closing out play with a commanding second set. 

- After the Generals rallied back to earn a victory in No. 3 singles, Zhang clinched a team win for the Garnet with a three-set victory in No. 4 singles. Zhang dropped the opening set, 6-3, before falling behind 0-2 in the second set. With his back against the wall, the first-year rallied for six-straight games to force a third set. Zhang then took control of the final set with five-straight games before claiming victory with a 6-3 decision. 

- Lalith Suresh tacked on another victory for the Garnet with a win in extra sets. The sophomore outlasted his opponent in the opening set with a 6-3 decision, but dropped a tightly-contested second set, 7-5. Suresh then led the entire way with a 6-1 victory in the final set. Rishi Verma nearly grabbed another win for Swarthmore in No. 6 singles, but fell just short of a three-set comeback. 

UP NEXT
The Garnet (2-0) return to action when half the squad travels to Muhlenberg College and the other half hosts New York University on Saturday.

 
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