MEDFORD, Mass. – The 17th-ranked Trinity University men's tennis team earned a 4-1 win over #35 The College of New Jersey in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs on Saturday.
The Tigers (14-8) advance to the NCAA Third Round with the win over the Lions (16-6), which is the second straight appearance in the third round for Trinity. Head Coach
Russell McMindes has led the team to 16 straight NCAA Playoff tournaments and will be seeking the team's first appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals since the 2021 season.
Trinity lost the doubles point to start the match as TCNJ won two of the three doubles matchups.
Ethan Flores (Houston, Texas / Clear Lake) and
Roshin Kamath (League City, Texas / Clear Springs) fell 6-1 at line two to start, followed by a 6-3 win by Trinity's
Aashish Dhanani (Austin, Texas / Westwood) and
Ryan Warren (Keller, Texas / Connections Academy) at line three doubles. The Lions clinched the point at line one with a 6-4 win over the Tiger team of
Kishan Kersten (Plano, Texas / West) and
Jared Perry (Tucson, Ariz. / Catalina Foothills).
Needing to win four singles matches, Trinity won the opening set in five of the six to get off on the right foot. The only loss came in a tiebreaker as Perry was edged 7-6 (7-4) at line two, though he came back and won 6-3 in the second. That match never finished, though, and was one of just two matches to go to a third set. Warren won 6-1, 6-2 at line four to tie things up, then Dhanani gave the Tigers the lead with his 6-2, 6-3 win at line three just minutes later as Trinity had all the momentum going their way.
At line one singles, Kersten was the first to win the opening set 6-2 and came within a game of being the first to clinch. Instead, he went to a second-set tiebreaker before winning 7-6 (8-6) to put the Tigers up 3-1. Kamath won his first set 6-4 at line five, then was edged 7-5 in the second; however, before he started a third set, Flores was able to clinch. Flores won 7-5, 6-3 at line six to vault Trinity to tomorrow's third round.
Up Next
Trinity will face the regional host #3 Tufts University (MA) in the NCAA Third Round at 12:00 p.m. (ET) tomorrow. The winner advances to the NCAA Championships Round, hosted by the University of the South in Chattanooga, Tenn., from May 19-22.
