CLAREMONT, Calif. — The No. 20 Caltech men's tennis team hit the road on Saturday afternoon as they faced the No. 23 Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. It was the first interconference road matchup for the Beavers, who fought valiantly across all nine matches in an exhilarating battle that came down to the final court.

The Beavers earned their first team point in second doubles as rookie Tejas Ram (Allen, Texas / Allen) and senior Andrei Staicu (Cary, N.C. / Green Hope) toughed out a gritty 8-7 (3) victory.

A few minutes later, seniors Kyle McCandless (Lexington, Mass. / Lexington) and Daniel Wen (McLean, Va. / Thomas Jefferson HS for Science & Technology) earned a massive win on Court 1 as the duo topped the third-ranked doubles partnership in the region, 8-7 (6). The two Beavers entered the contest at No. 6 in the regional doubles rankings and now improve to 9-2 together this year.

Caltech picked up its third team point in singles play as first-year Constantin Cedillo-Vayson de Pradenne (Paris / Lycée Jean de La Fontaine) won a quick 6-2, 6-3 match on Court 1. It was the rookie's first time competing in first singles; he now improves to 12-1 on the season.

McCandless earned his second victory of the day as he took on a strong opponent on Court 2, winning the first set 6-3 before taking the second set 7-5 for the match.

Wen took on Court 3 where he won the second set 6-3 to force a third; on Court 4, rookie Eric He (Martinsville, N.J. / Bridgewater Raritan) took the first set 6-3 before dropping a heartbreaking 6-7 (4) second set and falling in the third.

The Beavers will now return to Pasadena for a pair of home matches as they take on Chapman University this Tuesday, Apr. 9 at 3 p.m. before hosting Occidental College as part of Orange Out this Saturday, Apr. 13 at 10 a.m. Cheer on the Beavers in person and follow along at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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