Upset Bid at No. 29 Santa Clara Falls Short, 4-3

Bulldogs Take Doubles Point and Two of Top Three Singles Spots

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's tennis team just reached an all-time high in the ITA rankings at No. 29 earlier this week, but the Yale Bulldogs nearly shortened that celebration Thursday afternoon at Degheri Tennis Center. After taking the doubles point 2-1, Yale pushed the Broncos to the limit with two wins in the top three singles spots, but ultimately Santa Clara avoided the upset with a 4-3 win.

Yale (7-4) saw its three-match winning streak come to an end, but did win the doubles point for the fourth time in a row and eighth time in 11 spring matches. That also marked the first time in four matches that Santa Clara had surrendered a point.

An 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles by juniors Daniel Hoffman and Marc Powers, combined with a 9-7 win at No. 3 doubles by junior John Huang and sophomore Patrick Chase, gave Yale a 1-0 lead. Hoffman and Powers are now 7-1 in the spring and 16-4 overall. Huang and Chase have won five straight matches together.

Hoffman and Huang then came through with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively. Huang's 6-2, 6-0 win snapped a five-match winning streak for Nicolas Vinel. At No. 2, the Broncos' John Lamble had a six-match winning streak and grabbed the first set against Hoffman, but had to retire down 3-0 in the second set.

Santa Clara (11-3) won at the other four singles spots in straight sets to earn the 4-3 victory. The Broncos improved to 6-1 at home.

Yale's swing through California continues with a match at No. 10 Stanford on Saturday.

Report by Sam Rubin '95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity