The Yale men’s tennis team lost to Illinois, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Atkins Tennis Center on May 1. This marked Yale’s first appearance at the national tournament since 1977.
The match began with Illinois winning the doubles point after victories at both No. 1 and No. 2 positions. In singles play, Illinois secured three more wins to clinch the overall match. Despite the final score, Yale players were competitive throughout, including Vignesh Gogineni taking an opening set from Gabriel Debru and Bulldogs leading or splitting sets on several unfinished courts.
With this result, Yale ended its season with a record of 16-10 while Illinois improved to 23-7.
In doubles competition, Debru and Kenta Miyoshi defeated Gogineni and Edward Liao (6-2), while William Mroz and Tyler Bowers beat Jason Shuler and Dylan Tsoi (6-1). The third doubles match was left unfinished with David Bakonyi and Adam Jilly facing Eric Li and Ethan Chung (3-3).
During singles play, Debru defeated Gogineni (2-6, 6-2, 6-4), Miyoshi won against Liao (6-3, 7-5), Jilly overcame Li (6-2, 6-3), while other matches remained unfinished as Illinois clinched victory early.
Looking ahead, both teams will prepare for future seasons after their respective finishes in this year’s NCAA tournament.
