SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The No. 13 Swarthmore College men's tennis team defeated its second nationally-ranked squad of the spring and remained unbeaten with a 5-4 victory over No. 22 Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday.
The Garnet swept the doubles matches, which proved key to the win as Swarthmore then won just two singles bouts.
Michael Melnikov was the lone Garnet player to win in both singles and doubles.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Melnikov and
Utham Koduri continued their strong start to the campaign as the 17
th-ranked doubles squad took down the 11
th-ranked duo from Carnegie Mellon, 8-5, at first doubles. Melnikov and Koduri are now 7-1 on the season, including 3-0 in dual matches.
-
Andres Fente and
Winston Zhang teamed up for an 8-4 win at the second spot before
Rushil Patel and
Max Lindstrom made it 3-0 with an 8-6 triumph at third doubles. Patel and Lindstrom are now 3-0 as a duo.
- Melnikov kept his strong play going in singles as the 32
nd-ranked player in Division III upset the Tartans' fifth-ranked player in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
- Despite trailing 4-0, Carnegie Mellon rallied back with wins at second, third, and fourth singles to cut the deficit to one. Lindstrom and Zhang both battled to three sets but ultimately suffered defeats.
Lalith Suresh dropped a close opening set, 7-5, before falling 6-3 in set two.
-
Rishi Verma saved the day for Swarthmore, earning the match-clinching victory at fifth singles. He cruised to a 6-1 win in the first set before pulling out a 6-4 decision in the closing set.
Aamish Pal fought to a third set at the sixth position, but came out on the short end of an intense super tiebreak, 13-11.
UP NEXT
The Garnet (5-0) have a quick turnaround as they host Division II Kutztown University on Sunday at 12 p.m.
