SWARTHMORE, PA - The Vassar College men's tennis team opened its 2021-22 season on Saturday and Sunday, competing at the Swarthmore Tournament. The Brewers battled opponents from Franklin & Marshall, The College of New Jersey and the host Garnet of Swarthmore in the non-team scoring event.

Action opened on Saturday morning as the Brewers squared-off against the Diplomats of F&M. In doubles action, the Vassar duo of sophomores Jay Wong and Benjamin Almquist had an outstanding effort, besting Adrian Charchalis and Isaac Rockower by an 8-7 (7-5) margin. Next up was senior Mihajlo Ivanovic and sophomore Arun Guruswamy as they suffered a tough 8-4 loss to Justin Pace and Tristan Steffe. Rounding out doubles was senior William Hwang and rookie James Balon, who fell 8-3 to Pedro Norte and Anthony Casale.

Singles action saw Wong post a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Charchalis, while Almquist bested Pace, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 1-0 (10-5). Guruswamy took on Steffe, falling 6-4, 6-3, while Ivanovic fell in a tough one to Norte, 6-7 (3-7), 5-7.

Balon faced Rockower, falling 6-3, 6-3, while sophomore Nihal Kothari bested Casale for a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 victory.

In the afternoon session, the Brewers battled the Lions of TCNJ. Doubles action opened with Wong and Almquist who fell by an 8-3 margin to Justin Wain and Matthew Michibata. Ivanovic and Guruswamy then suffered an 8-5 loss in their match, while senior Mathew Yee and Balon fell 8-4 to Dorian Makarski and Jacob Quijano.

Singles action saw Wong the victor once again, defeating Michibata, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4). Almquist shouldered a 6-4, 6-1 loss to Adrian Tsui, while Ivanovic bounced back for a 6-4, 6-4 win against Akul Telluri. Balon fell 7-5, 6-0 to Nikola Kilibarda, while Kothari dropped a 6-0, 6-2 decision to Derek Jordan. Hwang rounded out the action with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Quijano.

The Brewers concluded tournament action on Sunday against the Garnet as the doubles duo of Wong and Almquist charged to an 8-4 win over Graham Hadesman and Maxim Pogorelov. Ivanovic and Guruswamy shouldered an 8-2 loss to Josiah Myers-Lipton and Stafford Yerger, while Yee and Hwang fell 8-3 to Minh Nguyen and Hellman Zhao.

Singles action saw Wong complete his undefeated weekend, improving to 3-0 with a 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (14-12) battle against Myers-Lipton. Almquist also won a hard-fought 6-7 (11-13), 6-2, 1-0 (10-8) match against Pogorelov.
Guruswamy suffered a 6-3, 4-6, 0-1 (3-10) loss to Andy Wu, while Kothari fell 6-3, 6-3 to Yerger. Balon rebounded for victory in his match, besting Jay Jones by a 6-4, 6-3 margin, while Hwang fell to Nguyen, 6-1, 6-3.

Vassar returns to the court on Saturday when it heads to New Jersey to compete in the Stevens Tournament, to be held at the Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor Township, NJ. Action begins Saturday and runs through Sunday.