Yale Athletics

The Yale men’s and women’s tennis teams were both in action this past weekend. The men’s squad traveled to the Bronx on Friday to take on Cornell before returning home to face Memphis on Sunday, while on the women’s side, the Bulldogs took a trip down to the Sunshine State to take on Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of South Alabama. 

On Friday, Feb. 28, the 37th-ranked men’s team took on the 24th-ranked Cornell Big Red in a highly-anticipated Ivy matchup. The Bulldogs got off to a fast start in doubles when the duo of Jason Shuler ’27 and Krish Gupta ’28 made quick work of Cornell’s Nathan Mao and Radu Papoe, winning 6–3. Jim Ji ’27 and Eric Li ’26 clinched the doubles point when they followed that up with a 6–4 victory over Jack McCarthy and Adit Sinha. 

In singles, the Big Red took the first point when Papoe beat Vignesh Gogineni ’26. However, the Bulldogs proceeded to rattle off three straight wins and clinch the 4–1 team victory. Shuler got the scoring started by breezing past McCarthy 7–5, 6–1. Edward Liao ’28 took down Mao 6–3, 7–5 and Gupta slammed the door on Cornell by beating Felipe Pinzon 6–4, 7–6. 

Overall, it was a strong day for the Bulldogs as they not only picked up a Top 25 victory but also got their first win over Cornell since 2013. 

However, on Sunday against Memphis, Yale wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum gained from beating the Big Red. The Bulldogs got off to a slow start in doubles, with only Gogineni and Liao winning their match 6–4. 

In singles, it was more of the same story, with Yale only winning two of six matches. Gogineni fell again, as did Ji. Shuler was able to put the first point on the board when he beat Harry Rock 6–4, 6–4. Li and Liao both lost their matches, but Gupta was a bright spot for the team when he absolutely crushed Alejandro Vizoso Anseded 6–3, 6–0. 

After falling to Memphis, the Bulldogs are expected to drop in the rankings but still boast a strong 8–4 record as they continue with their spring season. Yale men’s tennis is back in action when they travel to Santa Barbara, CA on March 10. 

Down in sunny Fort Myers, the 32nd-ranked Yale women’s tennis team got to enjoy some good weather as they took on Florida Gulf Coast University on Friday. In doubles, the Bulldogs showed no signs of travel wear-and-tear, getting off to a quick start and winning two of the three matches. Mirabelle Brettkelly ’25 and Shyla Aggarwal ’27 defeated Paloma Goldsmith and Nora Svensson 7–6, and the duo of Julia Werdiger ’28 and Angela Huang ’28 had no trouble getting past Anjali Kotecha and Francisca Vergara, winning 6–3. 

In singles, it was more of the same story with Yale winning five of their six matches. Orly Ogilvy ’27 put a point on the board when she took down Ashley Matz 6–3, 6–2. Aggarwal followed her up by defeating Isabella Colmenares 6–3, 6–3. Brettkelly battled hard but came up just short, losing 7–5, 7–6. 

Werdiger, however, got the bounce-back point, winning in three sets against Vergara 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. Erin Ha ’27 got past Svensson without any issues, winning 6–4, 6–4, and Huang grabbed the last point of the day by winning 6–7, 6–4, 6–0. 

After a day off, the Bulldogs were back in action on Sunday. After seven straight victories for the team, the winning streak finally came to an unexpected end versus unranked South Alabama. 

In doubles, Yale wasn’t able to win any of their matches. In singles, it was equally rough for the team as only two were able to pull out a victory. Werdiger easily defeated Jade Marie 6–2, 6–4, and Huang beat Lara van Der Merwe 6–4, 6–3. 

The Bulldogs have a chance to bounce back next weekend when they travel to the Bronx to play Temple University on March 8.