Manfredi Graziani and Aaron Sandler from the University of Pennsylvania men’s tennis team have earned a place in the NCAA Championships after a semifinal win at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Sectionals held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The competition began on Thursday with senior Manfredi Graziani defeating Constantinos Djakouris of UNC in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. The Penn doubles team of Shaurya Bharadwaj and Vojtech Vales also advanced by upsetting the second-seeded Andrade da Silva/Barbier Gazeu pair from South Carolina, winning 7-5, 6-4. Later that day, Graziani teamed up with junior Aaron Sandler to defeat Charlotte’s Dreycopp/Prata duo, 6-4, 2-6, 10-5.
On Friday, Graziani was narrowly defeated by Paul Barbier Gazeu of South Carolina in singles play but recovered in doubles alongside Sandler to beat Bryant’s Machado and Baquero with a score of 7-5, 6-2. Meanwhile, Bharadwaj and Vales lost their doubles match against UNC’s Mangiapane and Wright.
Saturday saw Graziani and Sandler continue their strong performance by overcoming #74-ranked Stenzer/Daryabeigi from South Carolina. They won after a close contest: 6-4, 6-7(5), 12-10. This victory secured their spot at the NCAA Championships set to take place later this month in Orlando.
The pair will next face UNC’s Ian Mayew and Kase Schinnerer in the finals of the East Sectional.
“This win is a significant one, as it punches the dynamic duo’s ticket to the NCAA Championships in Orlando later this month,” according to the release.
Below are selected results:
Thursday:
Singles – Manfredi Graziani (Penn) def. Constantinos Djakouris (UNC), 6-1, 6-1
Doubles – Shaurya Bharadwaj/Vojtech Vales (Penn) def. Lucas Andrade da Silva/Paul Barbier Gazeu (South Carolina), 7-5, 6-4; Manfredi Graziani/Aaron Sandler (Penn) def. Ivan Dreycopp/Vasco Prata (Charlotte), 6-4, 2-6, 10-5
Friday:
Singles – Paul Barbier Gazeu (South Carolina) def. Manfredi Graziani (Penn), 0-6, 7-6, 6-7
Doubles – Anthony Wright/Nicholas Mangiapane (UNC) def. Shaurya Bharadwaj/Vojtech Vales (Penn), 6-7, 4-6; Manfredi Graziani/Aaron Sandler (Penn) def. Miguel Angel Machado/Daniel Baquero (Bryant), 7-5, 6-2
Saturday:
Manfredi Graziani/Aaron Sandler (Penn) def. Max Stenzer/Sean Daryabeigi (South Carolina), 6–4, 6–7(5), 12–10
