Men’s tennis turns heads at ITA Championships; hosts inaugural Big Red Invitational

Green, Mackler win singles bracket titles at ITA Championships

GRANVILLE, Ohio (September 26, 2022) – The Denison University men's tennis team continued its 2022 Fall season this past weekend by sending six athletes to compete at the ITA Central Regional Championships at Washington University in St. Louis while keeping the rest of the team at home to host the first Big Red Invitational. In the end, the Big Red definitely left their mark at the ITA Championships as freshman Ethan Green won the Green draw, junior Andy Mackler won the Red Draw, and seniors Jack Bulger and Marc-Lennart Harms advanced to the semifinals of the ITA doubles bracket while Bulger also advanced to the quarterfinals of the main singles draw.

ITA Central Regional Championships:

In the ITA singles bracket, Bulger was seeded ninth and rolled to wins of 6-0, 6-4 over Gade Vidinas (Kalamzoo) and 6-1, 6-1 over Joe Patton (Wittenberg) on day one to advance to the round of 16. Then to start up day two in the round of 16, Bulger came back to defeat Jared Phillips (WashU) in a gutty three-set performance, 1-6, 7-5, 7-5, to advance to the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, that is where the run for Bulger ended as he dropped another three-setter, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, to the fourth-seeded and eventual singles champion Abhi Ramireddy from Washington University in St. Louis.
Harms was seeded 12th in the main singles bracket and won his first match 6-0, 6-1 over Nathan Peck (Earlham) before falling in three sets, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2) 6-0, to the University of Chicago's John Walentowicz in the second round.
Also in the main singles bracket, junior Zachary Portnoy was seeded 15th and won 6-2, 6-3 over Alex Pinkson (Webster) and 6-3, 6-3 over Ben Onufrock (Covenant) on day one to advance to the round of 16, where he fell 6-4, 6-1 to the seventh-seeded Derek Hsieh from the University of Chicago.
In the Green draw, Green advanced to the finals with wins of 6-2, 6-3 over Filippo Martini (Chicago), 8-3 over Jacob Watson (DePauw) and 8-6 over Casey Hishinuma (CWRU). Then in the finals, Green defeated Andrei Leonov from the University of Chicago, 7-5, 6-3, to win the championship.
In the Red draw, Mackler won his first match 6-1, 6-0 over Tharakesh Ashokar (Wabash) and then won 8-0 over Jacob Lowen (Chicago) to advance to the semifinals while freshman Jacob Patterson won 6-2, 6-2 over Will Horvath (Baldwin Wallace) and 8-6 over James Shaheen (WashU) to match up against Mackler in the semifinals. From there, Mackler came out on top 8-7 (7-1) in a tiebreaker over Patterson to advance to the finals, where he won 6-2, 6-2 over Case Western Reserve University's Michael Sutanto to claim Denison's second title of the ITA Championships.
In the ITA doubles bracket, Bulger and Harms were seeded fourth and advanced to the semifinals of the main draw on Sunday. The veteran duo started off with an 8-5 win over Christian Provenzano and Sahil Dayal (CWRU) in the round of 32 followed by an 8-1 win over Finley Buelte and Ryan McCook (DePauw) to advance to the quarterfinals, where they then defeated Colin Scruggs and Patricio Garcia Muriel Pasquel (WashU) by a score of 8-4. However, in the semifinals against the No. 2-seeded duo of Ramireddy and Phuc Huynh (WashU), Bulger and Harms came up short, 8-3, against the eventual doubles champions, who went on to defeat the top-seeded duo in the tournament from Case Western Reserve University.
Also in doubles, Mackler and Green swept Clark Kent and Luke Motsinger (Greenville) 8-0 in the round of 32 before coming up just short in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (11-9), against the third-seeded duo of Leonov and Sachin Das (Chicago) in the round of 16.
Additionally, the Big Red duo of Patterson and Portnoy won their first match, 8-5, over Eric Zhang and Rishil Kondapaneni (Kenyon) before falling 8-3 against Hsieh and Jack Wong (Chicago) in the round of 32. Then in the backdraw, Patterson and Portnoy defeated Guillermo Gonzalez Fernandez and Ramon Vilarroig Martinez (North Central) 8-5 and took down Matt McGee and Trey Kernan (Baldwin Wallace) 8-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. To begin the day on Sunday, Patterson and Portnoy battled Provenzano and Dayal (CWRU), who earlier in the tournament fell victim to Bulger and Harms, but this time Case got its revenge and Provenzano and Dayal defeated Patterson and Portnoy by a score of 8-2.

Big Red Invitational:

Andreas Chapides and Nickawn Namdar were both a combined 6-1 between singles and doubles over the weekend.
Chapides went 4-0 in singles action with wins over Denison's Colin Gramley on Friday, two players from Case Western Reserve on Saturday, and a player from Kenyon College on Sunday.
Namdar, meanwhile, who also earned two singles wins over players from Case on Saturday, was a perfect 4-0 in doubles. Namdar teamed up with Daniel Garcia to win twice on Saturday before earning a pair of wins with Milan Gonela and Archie Turner on Sunday.
Nadeem Jones was 3-0 in singles and 5-1 overall. In singles, he defeated two players from the College of Wooster on Saturday before taking down a Kenyon player on Sunday.
Gramley and Garcia both finished 3-0 in doubles action. After teaming up with Chapides for a win over Case Western Reserve on Saturday, Gramley went 2-0 with Blake Eason on Sunday, including a win over Chapides and Camden French. In addition to his two wins with Namdar on Saturday, Garcia finished off his third doubles win by teaming up with Tomer Ozmo to sweep a Wooster duo 8-0 on Sunday.
Other standouts from the Big Red Invitational for Denison included Ozmo, who was 4-2 overall (2-1 in both singles and doubles), and Turner, Gonela and French, who each finished with three wins on the weekend.

ITA Central Regional Championship Results (Link):

Singles Main Draw:
Jack Bulger (Denison) def. Gabe Vidinas (Kalamazoo) 6-0, 6-4
Jack Bulger Denison) def. Joe Patton (Wittenberg) 6-1, 6-1
Jack Bulger (Denison) def. Jared Phillips (WashU) 1-6, 7-5, 7-5
Abhi Ramireddy (WashU) def. Jack Bulger (Denison) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Zachary Portnoy (Denison) def. Alex Pinkston (Webster) 6-2, 6-3
Zachary Portnoy (Denison) def. Ben Onufrock (Covenant) 6-3, 6-3
Derek Hsieh (Chicago) def. Zachary Portnoy (Denison) 6-4, 6-1
Marc-Lennart Harms (Denison) def. Nathan Peck (Earlham) 6-0, 6-1
John Walentowicz (Chicago) def. Marc-Lennart Harms (Denison) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-0
Singles Green Draw:
Ethan Green (Denison) def. Filippo Martini (Chicago) 6-2, 6-3
Ethan Green (Denison) def. Jacob Watson (DePauw) 8-3
Ethan Green (Denison) def. Casey Hishinuma (CWRU) 8-6
Ethan Green (Denison) def. Andrei Leonov (Chicago) 7-5, 6-3
Singles Red Draw:
Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Tharakesh Ashokar (Wabash) 6-1, 6-0
Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Jacob Lowen (Chicago) 8-0
Jacob Patterson (Denison) def. Will Horvath (Baldwin Wallace) 6-2, 6-2
Jacob Patterson (Denison) def. James Shaheen (WashU) 8-6
Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Jacob Patterson (Denison) 8-7 (7-1)
Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Michael Sutanto (CWRU) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles Main Draw:
Andy Mackler/Ethan Green (Denison) def. Clark Kent/Luke Motsinger (Greenville) 8-0
Andrei Leonov/Sachin Das (Chicago) def. Andy Mackler/Ethan Green (Denison) 8-7 (11-9)
Jack Bulger/Marc-Lennart Harms (Denison) def. Christian Provenzano/Sahil Dayal (CWRU) 8-5
Jack Bulger/Marc-Lennart Harms (Denison) def. Finley Buelte/Ryan McCook (DePauw) 8-1
Jack Bulger/Marc-Lennart Harms (Denison) def. Colin Scruggs/Patricio Garcia Muriel Pasquel (WashU) 8-4
Abhi Ramireddy/Phuc Huynh (WashU) def. Jack Bulger/Marc-Lennart Harms (Denison) 8-3
Jacob Patterson/Zachary Portnoy (Denison) def. Eric Zhang/Rishil Kondapaneni (Kenyon) 8-5
Derek Hsieh/Jack Wong (Chicago) def. Jacob Patterson/Zachary Portnoy (Denison) 8-3
Doubles Back Draw:
Jacob Patterson/Zachary Portnoy (Denison) def. Guillermo Gonzalez Fernandez/Ramon Vilarroig Martinez (North Central) 8-5
Jacob Patterson/Zachary Portnoy (Denison) def. Matt McGee/Trey Kernan (Baldwin Wallace) 8-3
Christian Provenzano/Sahil Dayal (CWRU) def. Jacob Patterson/Zachary Portnoy (Denison) 8-2

Big Red Invitational Results (Link):

Singles Competition:
Day One -- (September 23, 2022)
Tomer Ozmo (Denison) def. Blake Eason (Denison) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (11-9)
Andreas Chapides (Denison) def. Colin Gramley (Denison) 1-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-8)
Camden French (Denison) def. Nickawn Namdar (Denison) 6-3, 6-3
Milan Gonela (Denison) def. Archie Turner (Denison) 6-4, 6-2
Day Two -- (September 24, 2022)
Andreas Chapides (Denison) def. Yuvraj Narang (Case Western Reserve) 6-1, 6-2
Colin Gramley (Denison) def. Christophe Leblanc (Kenyon) 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)
Andreas Chapides (Denison) def. Rohan Bhat (Case Western Reserve) 6-3, 6-4
Camden French (Denison) def. Rohan Bhat (Case Western Reserve) 7-5, 6-4
Nadeem Jones (Denison) def. Walker Wood (College of Wooster) 6-0, 6-2
Nickawn Namdar (Denison) def. Matthew Plunkett (Case Western Reserve) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (14-12)
Diego Maza (Case Western Reserve) def. Daniel Garcia (Denison) 0-6, 6-3, 1-0 (15-13)
Anmay Devraj (Case Western Reserve) def. Archie Turner (Denison) 6-2, 7-6
Justin Prochnow (Case Western Reserve) def. Blake Eason (Denison) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 1-0 (10-6)
Pranav Ikkurthy (Case Western Reserve) def. Milan Gonela (Denison) 6-4, 6-4
Nadeem Jones (Denison) def. Alex Anikeeff (College of Wooster) 6-1, 6-0
Tomer Ozmo (Denison) def. Atomu Maruyama (College of Wooster) 6-1, 6-0
Pranav Ikkurthy (Case Western Reserve) def. Colin Gramley (Denison) 6-1, 7-5
Ben Martin (Case Western Reserve) def. Camden French (Denison) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-3)
Yuvraj Narang (Case Western Reserve) def. Tomer Ozmo (Denison) 6-4, 0-6, 1-0 (12-10)
Nickawn Namdar (Denison) def. John Kasner (Case Western Reserve) 6-3, 6-2
Anmay Devraj (Case Western Reserve) def. Milan Gonela (Denison) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9)
Archie Turner (Denison) def. Tristan Munteanu (Ohio Northern) 6-2, 7-5
Day Three -- (September 25, 2022)
Kavya Desai (Ohio Northern) def. Archie Turner (Denison) 1-2, retired
Andreas Chapides (Denison) def. Christophe Leblanc (Kenyon) 6-4, 6-0
Nadeem Jones (Denison) def. Harshal Rukhaiyar (Kenyon) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8)
Jacob Smith (Kenyon) def. Blake Eason (Denison) 6-3, 7-5
Milan Gonela (Denison) def. Camden French (Denison) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)

Doubles Competition:
Day Two -- (September 24, 2022)
Diego Maza/Matthew Plunkett (Case Western Reserve) def. Blake Eason/Milan Gonela (Denison) 8-6
Andreas Chapides/Colin Gramley (Denison) def. Rohan Bhat/Yuvraj Narang (Case Western Reserve) 8-6
Camden French/Archie Turner (Denison) def. Jacob Smith/Christophe Leblanc (Kenyon) 8-5
Nickawn Namdar/Daniel Garcia (Denison) def. Drew Swisher/Peyton Specht (Ohio Northern) 8-5
Nickawn Namdar/Daniel Garcia (Denison) def. Jack Bowers/Ian Loh (College of Wooster) 8-0
Justin Prochnow/Jackson Schueltze (Case Western Reserve) def. Tomer Ozmo/Nadeem Jones (Denison) 8-3
Tomer Ozmo/Nadeem Jones (Denison) def. Alex Anikeeff/Atomu Maruyama (College of Wooster) 8-1
Day Three -- (September 25, 2022)
Colin Gramley/Blake Eason (Denison) def. Jacob Smith/Christophe Leblanc (Kenyon) 8-5
Andreas Chapides/Camden French (Denison) def. Patrick Johnson/Gabriel Escobar (College of Wooster) 8-5
Daniel Garcia/Tomer Ozmo (Denison) def. Alex Anikeeff/Atomu Maruyama (College of Wooster) 8-0
Milan Gonela/Nickawn Namdar (Denison) def. Harshal Rukhaiyar/Aidan Biglow (Kenyon) 8-4
Nadeem Jones/Archie Turner (Denison) def. Thomas Secrist/Spencer Surles (Capital) 8-3
Colin Gramley/Blake Eason (Denison) def. Andreas Chapides/Camden French (Denison) 8-5
Archie Turner/Nickawn Namdar (Denison) def. Alex Drewes/Walker Wood (College of Wooster) 8-0

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