RIVER FALLS, Wis. – For the first time since their return from Florida, the Yellowjacket men's tennis team ventured outdoors Monday, taking on a strong UW-Eau Claire team in a neutral site match.
 
The Yellowjackets, entered play at 16-2 on the season after having won three Upper Midwest Athletic Conference matches in a row since coming back from the spring trip, and they did so in impressive fashion, dispatching all comers by scores of 9-0.

Things were a little different this time around, as the Yellowjackets took on a Blugolds team looking to climb above the .500 mark for the season.
 
Eau Claire came out strong and never let up in this one, defeating the Yellowjackets 7-2 at the Ramer Field Tennis Courts in River Falls, Wis. The Yellowjackets are now 16-3 overall and 4-0 in the UMAC as they prepare to return to conference play later this week.

In doubles play, the pairing of Andre Luiz de Melo Guedes (Brasilia, Brazil/Centro de Ensino Médio Paulo Freire) and Jacob Zacharias (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) outlasted the Eau Claire duo of John Foley and Kole Kolinski, winning a tight match at No. 2 doubles, 8-7.
 
It was the only victory in doubles play for the Yellowjackets, as Igor Guetten Chaves (Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil/Colégio Adventista) and Ren Kurachi (Yokohama, Japan/Yokosuka Gakuin) were defeated at No. 1 doubles, and Benedek Kaibas (Salgótarján, Hungary/Mikszáth Kálmán Gimnázium) and Mateus Miranda Silvestre (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Colegio Torricelli) fell at No. 3 doubles.
 
In singles action, UW-Eau Claire secured the win by taking matches at the No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 slots.
 
The Yellowjackets did gain a win at No. 1 singles later in the match, when Guetten Chaves defeated Demetri Bush in a come-from-behind thriller, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. For Guetten Chaves, it was his third win in his last four matches, and his record on the year now stands at 11-3.
 
Kurachi was also involved in a thrilling match at No. 3 singles. The Yellowjacket freshman won the opening set 6-4, before Eau Claire's Foley battled back to take the second set 6-2. The two were tied 6-6 in the third set, before Foley was victorious in the tiebreaker, winning the set and the match.
 
Next up for the Yellowjackets is their expected first outdoor home match of the 2022-23 season. The Yellowjackets are slated to meet Northwestern, Thursday, April 13 at the UW-Superior Outdoor Tennis Complex. The opening serve in the crucial UMAC battle is scheduled for 1 p.m.