ORLANDO – The Yellowjacket men's tennis team, having lost three matches in a row, were looking to get back in the win column Tuesday.
 
It was a doubleheader day for the Yellowjackets, as they opened the day against Hampden-Sydney, before closing the day with a tilt against UW-La Crosse. Two exciting matches saw the Yellowjackets finish the day with a split. The Yellowjackets put an end to their losing streak with a 5-4 win over Hampden-Sydney, before falling to UW-La Crosse by an identical 5-4 score.

The Yellowjackets are now 8-7 overall on the year.
 
Against Hampden-Sydney, the Yellowjackets fell behind early, losing two of the three matches in doubles play. Jacob Zacharias (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) and Lucca Paladini (Blumenu, Brazil/Colegio Saber) earned the Yellowjacket win in doubles play, coming away with a thrilling 8-7 win at the No. 3 pairing. Zacharias and Paladini earned the win by taking the tiebreaker, 7-5.
 
Zacharias wasn't done, as he got the clinching victory at No. 6 singles. Zacharias took the opening set over Hampden-Sydney's Matt Kendrick 6-2, before Kendrick rallied and whitewashed Zacharias in the second set, 6-0. Zacharias took the tiebreaker 10-3 to win the third set, and the match.
 
Match Notes

• After falling behind 2-1 in doubles, the Yellowjackets moved in front with wins at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles.
• Ren Kurachi (Yokohama, Japan/Yokosuka Gakuin) and Igor Guetten Chaves (Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil/Colégio Adventista) bounced back from a loss at No. 1 doubles, each winning their singles match. Kurachi defeated Dillon McReynolds 6-3, 6-4, while Guetten Chaves defeated Casey Coffey 6-3, 6-0.
• Sharan Kanugovi (Bangalore, Karnataka/New Baldwin International School) was victorious a No. 3 singles, but needed a tiebreaker to do so. He won the first set 6-2, lost the second 6-7 before taking the tiebreaker 10-4.

The second match of the day was also a nail biter for the Yellowjackets, but unfortunately, things didn't quite as well as in the opener, with the Yellowjackets falling to UW-La Crosse.
 
In doubles play, the Yellowjackets took a 2-1 lead. Kanugovi and Paladini were victorious, 8-4 a No. 1 doubles. At No. 3 doubles, Kurachi and Mateo Abarca Pino (Riobamba, Ecuador/El Despertar) snuck out an 8-7 win.
 
Kanugovi earned another win Tuesday, defeating La Crosse's Brady Horstmann at No. 2 singles, 6-1 3-6, 1-0 (10-7). Cullen Brown (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) was victorious at No. 6 singles, sweeping Nathan Rose 6-2, 6-2.
 
Match Notes

• Kurachi was playing at No. 1 singles, but was forced to retire, giving his opponent the win.
• Paladini played in a thriller a No. 3 singles. After losing the first set 3-6, he rallied to take the second set 6-0 before falling in the third-set tiebreaker, 11-13.
• Kanugovi now stands at 15-5 on the year in singles play.

Next up for the Yellowjackets is a match against Piedmont. The first serve is set for 8 a.m. Wednesday at the USTA National Campus.
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