Philadelphia, PA -- The NJIT men's tennis team turned in a strong performance at the ITA Northeast Regional Championship, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, highlighted by Yerassyl Bakhtiyar advancing to the quarterfinals of the singles main draw and several Highlanders earning victories in singles qualifying and doubles competition.
In singles qualifying, Riccardo Campagnola, Soma Fukuhara, and Bakhtiyar all advanced through the qualifying rounds to earn spots in the main draw. The trio delivered positive results against a competitive field, setting the stage for NJIT's performances in the championship draw.
Arijan Kaliterna, who entered the singles main draw directly, recorded two victories during the tournament. Kaliterna opened with a win over Lehigh's Alex Van Lumich before earning another victory over Milan Markovits to continue his run in the draw.
Bakhtiyar delivered one of the Highlanders' top performances of the tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals of the main draw. He recorded victories over Temple's João Bento Carqueija, Columbia's Junghee You and top-seeded Simeon Stankovic of Princeton, highlighting an impressive run against some of the region's top competition. Bakhtiyar's tournament came to an end in the quarterfinals against Nischal Spurling of UPenn.
NJIT also enjoyed success in doubles competition. Soma Fukuhara and Kaliterna earned an 8-7 victory over Delaware's Mason Robins and James Sclater, providing the Highlanders with another strong result against regional opposition.
Campagnola and Bakhtiyar also competed in doubles, earning valuable experience against a competitive field that included teams from the University of Pennsylvania. The Highlanders' performances across the doubles draw added to an encouraging overall weekend for the program.
"Positive results for the guys," said NJIT head coach Marco Matteucci. "Riccardo, Soma and Yerassyl all made it through qualifying, while Arijan was already in the main draw and had two good wins. Yerassyl did great, beating the No. 1 seed from Princeton to make it to the quarterfinals of the main draw. In doubles, we also did very well."
The Highlanders' performances at the ITA Northeast Regional Championship provided valuable experience against top regional competition as NJIT continues its fall season.
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