MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Saturday the Yellowjacket men's tennis team was back in action, taking on the Norse of Luther College before facing off against Macalester College.
 
Luther stands as the reigning champion of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) tournament in 2023-24, sweeping a pair of ranked opponents 5-0 to advance to the national tournament. Their dominance was shown inside the Baseline Tennis Center, as they defeated the Yellowjackets 7-0.
 
Match Notes

• Doubles action saw Luke Westholder and Joao Benvenutti take down Yash Chhabra (Jaipur, Rajasthan/Sanskar School) and Sharan Kanugovi (Bangalore, Karnataka/New Baldwin International School) 6-2 at the top spot. Igor Guetten Chaves (Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil/Colégio Adventista) and Vitor Sakakibara (São Paulo, Brazil/Colégio Saber) suffered a similar fate, falling to Eli Young and Juan Herrera 6-2.
• No. 3 doubles was a bit closer, but the Norse still came away with the win. The tandem of Blake Haugen (Fairmont, Minn./Fairmont) and Brandon Chu (Rogers, Minn./Rogers) fell to Abhay Chhabra and Rys Biro-Moore 6-4.
• Transitioning to singles play, Guetten Chaves fell 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) to Westholder at No. 1 singles.
• No. 2 singles featured Benvenutti and Kanugovi battle it out, but the Norse came out on top 6-1, 6-4.
• Chhabra was defeated by Herrera by 6-2, 6-2 decisions. His teammate Mateo Abarca Pino (Riobamba, Ecuador/El Despertar) fell to Abhay Chhabra 6-1 in the first game. He would rally, however, but Luther emerged victorious 7-6 (7-4).
• The Yellowjackets were rounded out with Vitor Sakakibara (São Paulo, Brazil/Colégio Saber) falling to Young 6-0, 6-2 at No. 5 singles before Chu lost 6-1, 6-3 in his match with Mainou Gerardo.

 
The night cap featured Superior taking on the Scots of Macalester College. A much closer contest, the Yellowjackets dropped the doubles point. Singles play came down to the wire, but Macalester escaped with a 4-3 match victory.
 
Match Notes

• The duo of Guetten Chaves and Sakakibara teamed up at the top spot, taking down Alec Sargent and Liam Lynch by a 7-5 decision.
• UWS fell in Nos. 2 and 3 doubles, however. Abarca Pino and Chu fell 6-3 to their Scots counterparts, while Kanugovi and Blake Haugen (Fairmont, Minn./Fairmont) dropped a 6-1 match to Michael Li and Beckett Annes.
• Guetten Chaves and Sargent duked it out at No. 1 singles. After winning the first game 6-2, he fell to Sargent 6-3 before falling in the tiebreaker 1-0 (10-8).
• Kanugovi and Abarca Pino's singles matches all forced tiebreakers, but they both won at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions, respectively. Kanugovi took down Lucas Wood 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 1-0 (10-7), while Abarca Pino earned a 0-6, 7-6 (7-5), 1-0 (10-7) victory over Lynch.
• Sakakibara was slotted at the fourth spot, facing Michael Li, and picked up the 7-5, 6-1 win over the Scots.
• Chu and Haugen fell at the Nos. 5 and 6 positions. Chu lost 6-0, 6-2 to Owen Lindstrom and Haugen lost 6-1, 6-2 to Beckett Annes.

 
The Yellowjackets stay on the road next weekend, traveling to the Green Bay Tennis Center for a pair of matches. Their first opponent is Augustana (Ill.), with action commencing at 5:30 p.m.
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