CLAREMONT, CA (March 20, 2026) -- The No. 5 Tufts University men's tennis team opened play at the Stag-Hen Invitational in dominant fashion on Friday, earning a 6-1 victory over No. 16 Pomona-Pitzer at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center.
Doubles competition began with Pomona-Pitzer striking first at No. 2, as the pairing of Andrej Djokic and Matej Djokic fell 6-2 to give the Sagehens early momentum. Tufts responded quickly at the top spot, where Sacha Maes and Alex Ganchev delivered a composed 6-3 win, using strong serving and net presence to even the doubles ledger.
The doubles point came down to No. 3, and the Jumbos rose to the occasion. Stavros Mastrogamvrakis and Kaetan Mehta put together a steady performance, breaking at a key moment and holding firm down the stretch for a 6-4 victory to secure the 1-0 team lead heading into singles.
Tufts carried that momentum into singles, with the first result coming at No. 5. Kaetan Mehta turned in one of the most dominant performances of the afternoon, cruising through a 6-0 opening set before closing out a 6-4 second to extend the Jumbo lead to 2-0.
Shortly after, Alex Ganchev made it back-to-back quick points for Tufts at No. 2. Ganchev controlled play and dictated rallies throughout a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win, pushing the advantage to 3-0 and putting Tufts firmly in command. He has now won four straight matches.
At No. 4, Sacha Maes continued the surge with another decisive result. Maes overwhelmed his opponent with consistent pressure and efficient point construction, earning a 6-1, 6-1 victory that brought gave the Jumbos the team victory.
Pomona-Pitzer managed to get on the board at No. 1, where Andrej Djokic battled in a tightly contested match but ultimately fell 6-4, 7-6. Despite the setback, Tufts maintained full control of the overall match score at 4-1.
Mastrogamvrakis rebounded from a second-set slip to deliver a strong third set. After splitting the first two sets 6-2, 4-6, he pulled away decisively in the third, winning 6-1.
With the outcome decided, Garv Bahl added the finishing touch at No. 3 in one of the most competitive matches of the day. After dropping a tight first set 7-5, Bahl showed resilience to take the second 6-4 and then edged a 10-point match tiebreak to complete a comeback victory, closing out the 6-1 final.
The second round of the tournament was slated to start in the afternoon, but the warm temperatures canceled the singles' portion of Tufts' match with Babson after the Beavers took the doubles point.
Tufts and Babson will resume on Saturday at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center with the winner moving into the title match later in the day.
--JUMBOS--
