ANNAPOLIS, Md.--Kicking off the ITA Regionals in Annapolis, Maryland on Thursday, Penn State Men's Tennis had a huge day on the court. Eight Nittany Lions advanced to the round of 32 and will continue play tomorrow at the Naval Academy.
Playing two matches on Thursday, Harrison Janes overcame Rithik Alkhafaji of George Mason 6-3, 6-1 to move on. Janes took on University of Delaware's Pascal Wagemaker in the round of 64 and defeated him in two sets, 6-3, 6-3.
Chikaya Sato also bested two opponents on the day. He defeated Jarett Karnibad of Mount St. Mary's in two sets. Taking on Temple's Louis Gorregues later in the day, Sato won 7-6(4), 6-1.
Sam Bossem, Bora Sengul, Malik Bhatnagar, Charl Morgan, Loren Byers, and Miko Eala were all granted byes to start the day.
In the round of 64, Bossem faced off against Thibault Frumholz from Temple. Besting him in three, Bossem took the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
Taking on Will Pak from Navy, Morgan easily won his match 6-2, 6-3.
Similarly, Bhatnagar defeated his opponent, Loyola's Matt Cardano, in two sets. Bhatnagar won 6-1, 7-5.
Byers prevailed over Conners O'Brien of Navy to take his match 6-1, 7-5.
Eala started off the day with a bye and then faced off against Howard's Justin Cadeau. Defeating him in three, Eala won 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-0.
Andrei Paduraru, Ondrej Ctverak, and Alexander Karman were defeated by their opponents in the round of 128.
The Nittany Lions are back tomorrow for more tournament action in Annapolis, Maryland at the ITA Regionals.