SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Feb. 12, 2022) – Senior Jake Will (Honolulu, Hawaii / Punahou School) lifted Caltech men's tennis to a season-opening victory at Westmont College on Saturday.

The Beavers' only double winner between second doubles and fourth singles, Will teamed with sophomore Ishaan Kannan (Scarsdale, N.Y. / Horace Mann) in a 6-3 win to help earn the lone Division II format doubles point, with juniors Rishi Gundakaram (Wyoming, Del. / Caesar Rodney) and John Kim (Cupertino, Calif. / Menlo School) registering the other necessary victory by the same score at third doubles.

Will then fought back from a 2-5 first set deficit to steal a pair of 7-6 tiebreak victories for a crucial momentum swing, as Caltech picked up the two other victories it needed between a hard-fought three-set clincher from sophomore Daniel Wen (McLean, Va. / Thomas Jefferson) at #6 singles and sophomore Kyle McCandless (Lexington, Mass. / Lexington) staving off four set points with his back against the wall, down 2-5 at 0-40 before rallying to notch a 7-5, 6-3 win at #2. Kannan and senior Matthew Gonzalgo (Plantation, Fla. / St. Thomas Aquinas) also lasted three sets but narrowly fell at the top and fifth singles courts.

Head Coach Jason Cohen and the 1-0 Beavers host a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 19 before taking another two full weeks to refine their games ahead of a busy Spring Break schedule in mid-March.