PASADENA, Calif. (Feb. 17, 2023) – The No. 16 Caltech men's tennis team defeated the squad from No. 39 UC Santa Cruz at home on Friday in the Beavers' first match of the season.

The day began with doubles action, where the home team took two of the three matches from the Banana Slugs. Juniors Kyle McCandless and Daniel Wen, who were last ranked No. 19 in the nation in doubles pairs, took to Court 1 for the Beavers. The duo came away with the victory, winning 8-6 versus their opposing pair.

Also coming away with a doubles win were seniors Rishi Gundakaram and Nathan Zou, who earned an impressive 8-2 victory on Court 3.

Head coach Matt Brisotti was pleased with how his squad fared in doubles play.

"Getting the lead after doubles was big," said Brisotti. "Being able to get the advantage up 2-1 was good for momentum."

That 2-1 lead soon became a 3-1 lead once singles play began, as Caltech quickly earned a victory in #4 singles with Wen earning a dominant 6-0, 6-0 sweep.

Court 6 saw Gundakaram come away with a solid win as well, taking the match 6-2, 6-2.

With the other matches finished, all eyes turned to the singles competitions on Court 1 and Court 2 as Caltech held onto a 4-3 overall lead.

An intense match on Court 1 saw No. 48 McCandless steal a game from his opponent in both sets, coming away with the 6-4, 6-4 win and clinching the victory for the Beavers.

Court 2 wrapped up a few minutes later as junior Ishaan Kannan came away with a comeback win after he struggled in the first set, topping UCSC's #2 by a final score of 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Brisotti thought the team performed strongly in the singles court and was proud of how his team toughed out the victory. "Beating Santa Cruz is always tough – you have to be able to battle, and we knew going into the match that it was going to be a battle," said Brisotti. "Now we have to recover both physically and mentally and be ready for a tough Brandeis team."

Brandeis University will come to town this Monday, Feb. 20, with action starting at 2 p.m. Follow the Caltech men's tennis team on Instagram @caltechmten.