Over the last week, three members of Penn tennis travelled to Orlando, Florida to compete in NCAA Division I Championships.
For Penn women’s tennis, junior Esha Velaga entered her third straight NCAA tournament ranked #78, the highest in the Ivy League. Though she won the first set, Velaga eventually fell to Ohio State’s Luciana Perry in the first round.
But Penn men’s tennis doubles partners senior Manfredi Graziani and junior Aaron Sandler had a historic run.
The two faced off against Santa Clara’s Luca Bluett and John Kim in the first round, where they won in a 10 point tiebreaker after dropping the first set. This was their tenth win as a team, highlighting their strength as a partnership.
After, the duo advanced to the Round of 16, where they took on No. 4 TCU’s Cosme Rolland De Ravel and Albert Pedrico Kravtsov. Unlike their tight victory in the first round, the pair won handily 6-4, 6-4.
The success in the Round of 16 did more than send Graziani and Sandler to the quarterfinals. The win qualified them for All-American honors, becoming the first doubles pair in Penn men’s tennis history to achieve the milestone.
“It was an achievement I was hoping to get and getting it my last year just makes it even more special. I hope Penn tennis will have many more All Americans in the future,” Graziani wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
In the quarterfinals against Wake Forest, the duo lost the first set but won the second before finally prevailing with a 10-7 tiebreaker victory. The win made them the first pair in history to make the Final Four in the NCAA tournament.
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The semifinals pushed Graziani and Sandler to the edge, and they were unable to find some momentum. They fell in straight sets (6-7, 4-6).
“In doubles the margins are so tight and if one point doesn’t go your way in each set you lose the match and I think that’s what happened,” Graziani wrote, “Our opponents played those points perfectly and we weren’t able to do the same.”
The tournament can hardly be seen as a loss though, as the duo walked away making Penn history in two forms and now have a strong outlook for the spring season.
“This tournament just proved to us that we have the level to beat any team in the county and no matter which pair or college we are playing against we have a great chance,” Graziani wrote.
This mindset will definitely come in handy in spring, where Penn tennis will return for its main season and conference play.
