ORLANDO, FL (May 18, 2023) -- The Tufts University men's tennis team finished its season on Tuesday afternoon, but for a few members the season continued as the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships got underway Thursday afternoon at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus.
Senior
Rishabh Sharda had a strong afternoon, as he earned a pair of victories to advance into the NCAA Elite Eight round at 9 a.m. Friday, May 19. Sharda, who was seeded No. 6 in the championships coming in, earned a quick 6-2, 6-4 win over Sean Pesin of Hobart College in the Round of 32 to get the day going.
In the Round of 16, Sharda battled Nolan Shah from Emory University and fell behind in the opening set 4-2 before falling 6-3 in the first stanza. In the second set, Sharda earned a quick break of serve to make it 2-0 as the set stayed on serve until 5-3 when Shah took a game off Sharda's serve to make it 5-4. The Tufts' senior came right back and broke serve to deadlock the match a set apiece.
In the third set, the two players took turns breaking serve in the opening two games but Sharda won the next two games before Shah was forced to retire at 4-1. Sharda is now into the NCAA Quarterfinals, and will take on No. 4 seed Phuc Huynh of Washington University of St. Louis after his pair of wins Thursday.
In doubles,
Vuk Vuksanovic and
Derin Acaroglu were seeded No. 2 in the draw but couldn't get things going, falling to Huynh and Abhi Ramireddy of WashU 7-5, 6-4 in the Round of 32.
--JUMBOS--
