The Tufts University men’s tennis team is headed to the NCAA Division III Championship Quarterfinals after a strong 4-1 win over RPI. The victory sets up a high-stakes matchup against No. 6 Emory in Claremont, California. This marks the fourth consecutive season Tufts has reached the NCAA final site and their third straight matchup against a nationally ranked opponent.
Jumbos in Top Form (22-2)
Tufts bounced back from a tough loss to Middlebury in the NESCAC Tournament with two wins over ranked teams in the NCAA Tournament. The Jumbos, ranked No. 3 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, bring a 22-2 record into the quarterfinals.
Senior Vuk Vuksanovic, the 2025 NESCAC Player of the Year, leads the team. He holds a No. 2 national singles ranking and boasts a 24-3 singles record. Vuksanovic is also 23-5 in doubles and has won his last 13 singles matches. He will compete in both the singles and doubles NCAA Individual Championships later this month.
Junior Javier Gonzalez is ranked No. 17 in singles and has been in the ITA top 20 for two weeks straight. He enters the quarterfinals riding an eight-match singles win streak and is 2-0 in doubles in the tournament.
Senior Derin Acaroglu, ranked No. 47, has won nine of his last 12 singles matches and is 15-8 in doubles play. Junior Andrej Djokic has compiled a 16-5 singles record and has won six of his last eight matches.
Djokic’s doubles partner, Alex Ganchev, has been nearly unbeatable. Ganchev holds a 15-1 doubles record and is currently on a 10-match win streak.
First-year player Stavros Mastrogamvrakis remains undefeated at 14-1 in singles this season, while Garv Bahl improved to 9-0 after a win in the No. 5 spot against Goucher.
Overall, Tufts enters the quarterfinals with a 92% win rate and a 78% success rate in both singles and doubles. Head coach Karl Gregor and his staff, named the 2025 NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year, will guide the Jumbos as they aim for their first title match appearance since 2023.
Emory Eagles Preview (17-6)
Emory advanced to the quarterfinals after two 4-0 wins following their third-place finish in the UAA Tournament. They’re chasing their seventh national title, which would tie the all-time record.
The Eagles, ranked No. 6 in the latest ITA poll, are led by Ruilin Feng, who is ranked No. 13 in singles and holds a 17-4 record. Efe Comu (No. 29), Dean Kamenev (No. 41), and John Lasanajak (No. 49) round out a strong singles lineup.
In doubles, Feng and Christian Liew are ranked No. 7 nationally, with a 21-6 record. Outside their top duo, the Eagles have mixed and matched pairings, including Kamenev and Ajay Kartik (4-7).
Emory has won three straight matches and will be a serious challenge for Tufts, particularly in singles play.
What’s Next: Denison or Johns Hopkins?
The winner of Tufts vs. Emory will move on to face either Denison or Johns Hopkins on Tuesday, May 20 at 8:00 p.m. EST.
Denison, ranked No. 2 in the ITA poll, boasts two of the top five singles players in the country: Kael Shalin Shah (No. 3) and Ethan Green (No. 4). Shah is 28-6 in singles, Green is 25-7, and the pair is also ranked No. 2 in doubles with a 27-5 record. Jacob Patterson (No. 20) adds further depth and pairs with Colin Grawley as the No. 16 doubles team.
Johns Hopkins, ranked No. 8, is led by Chakor Sankaran Rajendra (No. 28, 17-12 record) and Daniel Ardila (No. 43, 10-6 record). Ardila and David Blenkiron make up the No. 8 doubles team in the country with a 12-9 record.
Both Denison and Johns Hopkins are still searching for their first men’s tennis title match appearance, adding extra stakes to their quarterfinal clash.
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