PASADENA, Calif.  — The No. 13 Caltech men's tennis team opened conference play on Saturday with a decisive 8-1 victory over Whittier College. With the win, the group improves to 7-3 on the season.

The Beavers got off to a hot start in doubles action, nabbing wins in all three contests. Junior Ishaan Kannan paired up with first-year Andrew Zabelo on Court 1 to top the Poets' top duo by a score of 8-2. Caltech's team on second doubles also made quick work of their opponents as juniors Kyle McCandless and Daniel Wen coasted to the 8-1 victory.

All eyes turned to Court 3, as seniors Nathan Zou and Rishi Gundakaram battled with their opposite pairing in a close contest. After losing on serve in the sixth game, the duo later earned back the break to make the score 6-6, before the two pairs went to a tiebreak at 7-7. It was all Beavers in the decider, with Zou and Gundakaram dominating the tiebreak, 7-2.

With the home squad leading 3-0, the Beavers needed wins in just two singles matches to bring home the victory. The first match to finish was on Court 4, where Wen sailed to a 6-3, 6-1 win.

The Poets kept their hopes alive after grabbing a win on Court 6, but Caltech soon clinched the match with a win by McCandless in first singles (6-2, 6-4).

Also grabbing wins were Kannan on Court 2 (6-3, 6-1) and Rishi Gundakaram on Court 5, who won with a score of 7-6 (3), 6-1.

The day ended with a superset tiebreak for Zabelo on Court 3 with the overall team match already clinched. After dropping the first set 6-4, the newcomer charged back to a 6-0 win in the second set before earning the 10-6 victory in the tiebreak.

Head coach Matt Brisotti was impressed with how his players performed in both doubles and singles play. "Great win for the men today against a talented Whittier team," said Brisotti. "Happy to sweep doubles and set the tone early."

"It's great to start the SCIAC season 1-0 — now we have to quickly turn our attention to Redlands on Tuesday."

Caltech will face a skilled Redlands squad that is 2-0 thus far in conference play. The match will begin at 3 p.m. this Tuesday, Apr. 4 and will be held on the campus of the Bulldogs. The team will then return to Pasadena for a home match versus Gustavus Adolphus on Thursday, Apr. 6 at 3 p.m. Follow the men's tennis team on Instagram @caltechmten.