MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Macalester College men's tennis team opened its 2025 schedule with a 4-3 victory over UW-Superior Saturday night at Baseline Tennis Center. The non-conference win gives the Scots a 2-0 record on the season, while the Yellowjackets drop to 1-6.

The win is the first for Macalester interim head coach Chase Johnson, who was hired to lead the Scots' tennis programs last month. It is his first victory as a college head coach.

In non-conference duals this season, one point will be awarded to the team that wins the majority of the doubles matches. Macalester earned the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. Seniors Owen Lindstrom (Hanover, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) and Lucas Wood (Urbana, Ill./University Lab School) combined at No. 2 doubles to defeat Mateo Abarca Pino and Brandon Chu, 6-3. At No. 3 doubles, sophomore Kangyu Li (Shanghai, China/Shanghai Southwest Weiyu) and first year Beckett Annes (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) topped Blake Haugen and Sharan Kanugovi, 6-1.

In singles play, Lindstrom and Annes earned straight-set victories at fifth and sixth singles, respectively. After Vitor Sakakibara downed Li in straight sets at No. 4 singles, the dual would be decided by three matches that all went to tie-breakers. Senior Alec Sargent (Rochester, Minn./Rochester Century) battled Igor Guetten Chaves, losing the first set, 6-2 then winning the second 6-3 to go to a tie-breaker set. Sargent was able to outlast his opponent, 10-8 to take the match and clinch the dual for the Scots. The Yellowjackets ended up winning the final two tie-breaker matches to make the final score 4-3.

Macalester plays another non-conference dual on Saturday, Feb. 8 against UW-Stevens Point. The dual begins at 7:30 p.m. at Baseline Tennis Center.