ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Yellowjacket men's tennis team has emerged as powerhouse in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). The Yellowjackets won the UMAC regular season and tournament titles in 2022, and in 2023 they won the circuit's north division, before having its season abruptly halted in the tournament's championship match.
 
Saturday afternoon the Yellowjackets entered UMAC play for the first time, hoping a rugged non-conference schedule to start the season will have prepared them for the rigors of the UMAC regular season, and more importantly, the conference tournament.
 
First up on the schedule was a date with Northwestern, and the Yellowjackets got conference play started on the right foot.

After winning twice in doubles play, the Yellowjackets rolled through singles play on the way to a 7-2 win over Northwestern at the Johnson Tennis Complex.

The win was the eighth in a row over Northwestern, and it improved the Yellowjackets to 10-8 overall and 1-0 in the UMAC.
 
A pair of convincing victories gave the Yellowjackets a 2-1 edge after doubles play. Sharan Kanugovi (Bangalore, Karnataka/New Baldwin International School) and Davide Pelletti (Prado, Brazil) teamed up to defeat Northwestern's Carson Haack and Darin Rupp 8-2 at No. 2 doubles. Then at No. 3 doubles, Brandon Chu (Rogers, Minn./Rogers) and Jacob Zacharias (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) defeated the Eagles' duo of Griffen Jarchow and Ben Schutz 8-5.
 
In singles play, the Yellowjackets won five-of-six matches, with three of the wins coming in straight sets. Kanugovi took down Haack at No. 3 singles, 7-6 (10-8), 6-2, while Yash Chhabra (Jaipur, Rajasthan/Sanskar School) defeated Jarchow 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4 singles. Mateo Abarca Pino (Riobamba, Ecuador/El Despertar) beat Schutz 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 at No. 6 singles.
 
Match Notes

• Lucca Paladini (Blumenu, Brazil/Colegio Saber) dropped the opening set to Jacob Weddle, 6-4 at No. 2 singles. He came from behind to win the match, taking the second set 6-2 and the third 7-5.
• At. No. 5 singles, Cullen Brown (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) won the first set over Rupp, 6-1, before Rupp bounced back to win the second set 6-4. Brown then won the tiebreaker 10-6 to take the third set 1-0, winning the match.
• Kanugovi's singles win bumped his record on the year up to 17-5. He's won four singles matches in a row, and five of his last six.
• Brown's singles record on the year improved to 5-1.
• Today's match was the first time this season Zacharias and Chu teamed up in doubles play.
• Kanugovi and Pelletti now stand at 8-3 in doubles action.

Next, the Yellowjackets will take on Bethany Lutheran Saturday, April 20. The first serve is set for noon at the BLC Tennis Courts in Mankato, Minn.
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