GRANVILLE, Ohio (October 2, 2023) – The Denison University men's tennis team continued its Fall season this past weekend by sending six athletes to compete at the ITA Central Regional Championships at Kalamazoo College while keeping the rest of the team at home to host the second annual Big Red Invitational. At the ITA Championships, Ethan Green and Kael Shah both advanced to the semifinals of the singles bracket while playing together in doubles, they advanced all the way to the finals.
 
ITA Central Regional Championships:

• In doubles, the duo of Green and Shah was seeded fourth overall while all three Big Red pairs (Green/Shah, Colin Gramley/Zachary Portnoy, Anthony Payiavlas/Jacob Patterson) won their first match in the round of 32 to advance to the round of 16.
• In the round of 16, Gramley and Portnoy fell 8-4 to the No. 1-ranked duo of Derek Hsieh/Andrei Leonov (Chicago) while Green and Shah earned an 8-3 victory over Andrew Spirrison/Samuel Yin (Trine).
• Green and Shah then kept it going with an 8-6 win over No. 8-ranked Eliezer Gonzalez/Paulo Pocasangre (Kenyon) in the quarterfinals before matching up with Hsieh/Leonov in the semifinals.
• Against the top-seeded duo of Hsieh/Leonov, Green and Shah earned an 8-6 win to advance to the final, where unfortunately their run came to an end with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat to No. 2-seeded Vishwa Aduru/Diego Maza (Case Western Reserve).
• In singles, Shah was seeded fifth overall while Patterson was seeded seventh.
• All five Big Red players in singles (Shah, Portnoy, Payiavlas, Patterson, Green) won their first match in the round of 64 and advanced to the round of 32.
• In the round of 32, Shah defeated Eric Zhang (Kenyon) 6-3, 6-1; Patterson defeated Alejandro Gonzalez (Kenyon) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4; and Green took down Scott Yamamoto (Washington University in St. Louis) 6-1, 6-2.
• Then in the round of 16, all three players advanced again as Shah defeated Robert Zhang (Chicago) 6-0, 6-3; Patterson defeated Arjun Asokumar (Chicago) in a three-set comeback, 0-6, 6-2, 6-3; and Green topped Maza (Case Western Reserve) 6-2, 6-2.
• Because Shah and Green were still competing in the doubles semifinals and final on Sunday, that put a delay on their quarterfinal matches in the singles bracket.
• Once they returned to the court for the quarterfinals, Shah matched up against No. 1-ranked player in the region, Hsieh (Chicago), and gutted out a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 comeback victory to advance to the semifinals.
• In Denison's other quarterfinal matchup, Patterson and Green squared off against each other and again, it went to three sets as Green rebounded from a rough second set to pull off the 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 victory.
• In the semifinals, Shah took on Emil Grantcharov (Chicago) and fell in two sets, 6-3, 6-3.
• In the other semifinal match, Green matched up against the eventual singles champion, Ajay Mahenthiran (Case Western Reserve), and took him to three sets before falling 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

 
Big Red Invitational:

• Competing for the Big Red was Kyle Patrick, Milan Gonela, Archie Turner, Andy Mackler, Nickawn Namdar and Nadeem Jones in both singles and doubles while Tomer Ozmo also played in doubles.
• On Friday evening, Denison played singles against rival Kenyon College, and the Big Red went a combined 6-2 while Patrick led the team with a 2-0 record and all six Big Red players picked up at least one win.
• On Saturday, Denison was 3-3 against Case Western Reserve University and 2-0 against Otterbein University in singles, led by Mackler at 2-0. In doubles, the Big Red were 4-4 against the Spartans with three of those wins coming with Gonela being involved.
• On Sunday, the Big Red were a combined 13-0 in singles against Ohio Northern University (4-0), Capital University (5-0) and Otterbein (4-0), led by Mackler and Jones both with 3-0 records.
• Denison was also a combined 4-1 in doubles against Ohio Northern on Saturday and Sunday as Jones and Patrick were both involved in two of those wins.
• Throughout the tournament, Denison was a combined 25-6 in singles and 9-5 in doubles.
• Mackler was 6-0 in singles while Jones was 5-2, Turner and Patrick were both 4-1, Gonela was 3-0, and Namdar was 3-2.
• In doubles, Gonela was 5-0, Mackler was 4-1 and Patrick was 3-1.
• Overall for the weekend between both singles and doubles, Gonela was a perfect 8-0 while Mackler led the team in overall wins at 10-1. In addition, Patrick finished a combined 7-2 while Jones was 7-4 and Turner and Namdar were both 5-3.

 
ITA Central Regional Championship Results (Link):
Singles Main Draw:
R64: No. 5 Kael Shah (Denison) def. Ian Turnbull (Illinois Wesleyan) 6-1, 6-1
R64: Zachary Portnoy (Denison) def. Jesus Soto Bosa (Principia) 6-0, 6-0
R64: Anthony Payiavlas (Denison) def. Cole Goodman (Trine) 6-3, 6-1
R64: No. 7 Jacob Patterson (Denison) def. Samrvir Sran (Ohio Northern) 6-0, 6-1
R64: Ethan Green (Denison) def. Jacob Louiselle (DePauw) 6-2, 6-3
R32: No. 5 Kael Shah (Denison) def. Eric Zhang (Kenyon) 6-3, 6-1
R32: Casey Hishinuma (Case Western Reserve) def. Zachary Portnoy (Denison) 1-6, 6-1, 6-0
R32: Ajay Mahenthiran (Case Western Reserve) def. Anthony Payiavlas (Denison) 6-3, 6-2
R32: No. 7 Jacob Patterson (Denison) def. Alejandro Gonzalez (Kenyon) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
R32: Ethan Green (Denison) def. Scott Yamamoto (Washington University in St. Louis) 6-1, 6-2
R16: No. 5 Kael Shah (Denison) def. Robert Zhang (Chicago) 6-0, 6-3
R16: No. 7 Jacob Patterson (Denison) def. Arjun Asokumar (Chicago) 0-6, 6-2, 6-3
R16: Ethan Green (Denison) def. Diego Maza (Case Western Reserve) 6-2, 6-2
Quarterfinals: No. 5 Kael Shah (Denison) def. No. 1 Derek Hsieh (Chicago) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Quarterfinals: Ethan Green (Denison) def. No. 7 Jacob Patterson (Denison) 6-1, 0-6, 6-4
Semifinals: Emil Grantcharov (Chicago) def. No. 5 Kael Shah (Denison) 6-3, 6-3
Semifinals: Ajay Mahenthiran (Case Western Reserve) def. Ethan Green (Denison) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
 
Doubles Main Draw:
R32: Colin Gramley/Zachary Portnoy (Denison) def. Benjamin Tichauer/David Mnuskin (Oberlin) 8-0
R32: No. 4 Ethan Green/Kael Shah (Denison) def. Peyton Specht/Samrvir Sran (Ohio Northern) 8-3
R32: Anthony Payiavlas/Jacob Patterson (Denison) def. Ernesto Botero-Diaz/Jesus Soto Bosa (Principia) 8-2
R16: No. 1 Derek Hsieh/Andrei Leonov (Chicago) def. Colin Gramley/Zachary Portnoy (Denison) 8-4
R16: No. 4 Ethan Green/Kael Shah (Denison) def. Andrew Spirrison/Samuel Yin (Trine) 8-3
R16: No. 6 Pat Otero/Kane Kelley (Chicago) def. Anthony Payiavlas/Jacob Patterson (Denison) 8-5
Quarterfinals: No. 4 Ethan Green/Kael Shah (Denison) def. No. 8 Eliezer Gonzalez/Paulo Pocasangre (Kenyon) 8-6
Semifinals: No. 4 Ethan Green/Kael Shah (Denison) def. No. 1 Derek Hsieh/Andrei Leonov (Chicago) 8-6
Final: No. 2 Vishwa Aduru/Diego Maza (Case Western Reserve) def. No. 4 Ethan Green/Kael Shah (Denison) 6-4, 6-3
 
 
Big Red Invitational Results (Link):
Singles Competition:
Day One -- September 29, 2023
Kyle Patrick (Denison) def. Subhan Bin Salik (Kenyon College) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-2)
Milan Gonela (Denison) def. Archie Turner (Denison) 6-4, 6-2
Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Harshal Rukhaiyar (Kenyon College) 6-1, 6-0
Archie Turner (Denison) def. Subhan Bin Salik (Kenyon College) 6-2, 6-0
Gianluca Bocanegra (Kenyon College) def. Nickawn Namdar (Denison) 6-1, 6-3
Nadeem Jones (Denison) def. Christophe Leblanc (Kenyon College) 6-3, 6-2
Gianluca Bocanegra (Kenyon College) def. Nadeem Jones (Denison) 6-1, 6-4
Kyle Patrick (Denison) def. Christophe Leblanc (Kenyon College) 6-2, 6-2
Nickawn Namdar (Denison) def. Harshal Rukhaiyar (Kenyon College) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7)
 
Day Two -- September 30, 2023
Archie Turner (Denison) def. Schueltze, Jackson (Case Western Reserve Univ.) 6-4, 6-1
Milan Gonela (Denison) def. Bhat, Rohan (Case Western Reserve Univ.) 6-4, 6-4
Kosseifi, George (Case Western Reserve Univ.) def. Nickawn Namdar (Denison) 7-5, 6-2
Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Shiffer, Derek (Case Western Reserve Univ.) 6-0, 6-2
Plunkett, Matthew (Case Western Reserve Univ.) def. Nadeem Jones (Denison) 6-2, 6-0
Lambright, Trey (Case Western Reserve Univ.) def. Kyle Patrick (Denison) 6-4, 6-3
Nadeem Jones (Denison) def. Zach Frederick (Otterbein University) 6-2, 6-2
Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Drew Wherley (Otterbein University) 6-0, 6-0
 
Day Three -- October 1, 2023
Andy Mackler (Denison) def. T.J. Schultz (Ohio Northern) 6-0, 6-0
Nickawn Namdar (Denison) def. Thomas Secrist (Capital) 6-0, 6-1
Archie Turner (Denison) def. Jesse Stevens (Capital) 6-0, 6-0
Nadeem Jones (Denison) def. Drew Swisher (Ohio Northern) 6-3, 6-3
Kyle Patrick (Denison) def. Spencer Surles (Capital) 6-0, 6-4
Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Will Newberry (Otterbein University) 6-0, 6-0
Archie Turner (Denison) def. Nicholas Wines (Capital) 6-0, 6-0
Milan Gonela (Denison) def. Neil Reddy (Otterbein University) 6-1, 6-1
Nickawn Namdar (Denison) def. Neil Reddy (Otterbein University) 6-0, 6-1
Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Tyler Wood (Ohio Northern) 6-1, 6-2
Kyle Patrick (Denison) def. Drew Swisher (Ohio Northern) 6-2, 6-1
Nadeem Jones (Denison) def. Nikita Kitaev (Otterbein University) 6-4, 6-0
Nadeem Jones (Denison) def. Alex Rowley (Capital) 6-0, 6-2
 
Doubles Competition:
Day Two -- September 30, 2023
Martin, Ben/Schueltze, Jackson (Case Western Reserve Univ.) def. Archie Turner/Andy Mackler (Denison) 8-7 (7-2)
Milan Gonela/Nickawn Namdar (Denison) def. Prochnow, Justin/Salazar Garza, Sant. (Case Western Reserve Univ.) 8-4
Kosseifi, George/Bhat, Rohan (Case Western Reserve Univ.) def. Nadeem Jones/Tomer Ozmo (Denison) 8-4
Milan Gonela/Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Lambright, Trey/Plunkett, Matthew (Case Western Reserve Univ.) 8-4
Andy Mackler/Milan Gonela (Denison) def. Narang, Yuvraj/French, Daniel (Case Western Reserve Univ.) 8-6
Prochnow, Justin/Salazar Garza, Sant. (Case Western Reserve Univ.) def. Shiffer, Derek/Nadeem Jones (Case Western Reserve Univ./Denison) 8-4
Nickawn Namdar/Archie Turner (Denison) def. Plunkett, Matthew/Lambright, Trey (Case Western Reserve Univ.) 8-5
Kosseifi, George/Bhat, Rohan (Case Western Reserve Univ.) def. Kyle Patrick/Tomer Ozmo (Denison) 8-6
Nadeem Jones/Kyle Patrick (Denison) def. T.J. Schultz/Tyler Wood (Ohio Northern) 8-5
 
Day Three -- October 1, 2023
Nadeem Jones/Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Drew Swisher/Kessler Hackenberger (Ohio Northern) 8-2
T.J. Schultz/Tyler Wood (Ohio Northern) def. Archie Turner/Nickawn Namdar (Denison) 8-5
Milan Gonela/Kyle Patrick (Denison) def. Will Newberry/Dylan Shook (Otterbein University) 8-1
Tomer Ozmo/Andy Mackler (Denison) def. Ashton Hesson/Kosuke Asada (Ohio Northern) 8-0
Milan Gonela/Kyle Patrick (Denison) def. Nico Rogel/Isaac Spar (Ohio Northern) 8-0