FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Junior Evan Erb won another two matches on Saturday for the Washington and Lee men's tennis team, advancing to the semifinals of the main singles draw.
 
HIGHLIGHTS FROM DAY 2:
Erb needed the minimum four sets to get through the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals of the Championship Singles bracket, and did so with relative ease. He won both sets by 6-3 scores against Johns Hopkins' Pranav Gadiraju before nearly blanking Max Lindstrom of Swarthmore, 6-0, 6-1, to make it to Sunday's semifinal match.
 
First-year Sanjheev Rao also highlighted singles play for the Blue and White on Saturday, closing out a championship run in the B1 bracket. He defeated Jonathan Gu of Carnegie Mellon, 6-2, 7-6 (7-0) in the semifinals before grinding out a 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (11-9) win in the finals.
 
The Generals entered the day with two doubles duo still alive in the main draw. Erb and junior Eli Hirshberg advanced to the quarterfinals with an 8-3 win over Zac Ashtiani and Gonzalo Gentou of Franklin & Marshall. Their run came to end, however, in the next round by an 8-6 score to CMU's Raghav Jangbahadur and Daniel Kong.
 
Rao and sophomore Jake Vo also picked back up in the B1 doubles semifinals, and they made it into the championship match following an 8-4 victory over Aron Bursztyn and Russell Willenborg of Salisbury. Averett's Kazuki Fukushima and Jaeden Mukkaladyil then upended Rao and Vo, 8-4.
 
Senior Connor Coleman, first-year Heys Parker and Hirshberg had singles matches in the consolation bracket of the main draw as well. All three won in the Round of 32, Parker and Hirshberg in straight sets, while Parker and Coleman advanced to the quarterfinals with straight-set wins in the Round of 16.
 
UP NEXT:
Erb will be back in action on Sunday for the Championship Singles Semifinals at 11:00 a.m.
 
Championship Singles
Round of 16
Max Lindstrom (SWA) def. James Kurani (WLU), 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-3)
Evan Erb (WLU) def. Pranav Gadiraju (JHU), 6-3, 6-3
 
Quarterfinals
Evan Erb (WLU) def. Max Lindstrom (SWA), 6-0, 6-1
 
Semifinals (Sun., 11:00 a.m.)
Evan Erb (WLU) vs. Allen Gong (JHU) or Prem Dave (JHU)
 
Consolation – Round of 32
Heys Parker (WLU) def. Ashton Legum (CNU), 6-4, 6-1
Connor Coleman (WLU) def. Lars Jespersen (URS), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (10-7)
Eli Hirshberg (WLU) def. Artem Babaiev (SU), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
 
Consolation – Round of 16
Heys Parker (WLU) def. Samuel Donnelly (F&M), 6-4, 6-3
Connor Coleman (WLU) def. Winston Zhang (SWA), 6-4, 6-3
Edvard Porsmyr Hansen (CNU) def. Eli Hirshberg (WLU), 8-6
 
B1 Singles
Semifinals
Sanjheev Rao (WLU) def. Jonathan Gu (CMU), 6-2, 7-6 (7-0)
 
Championship
Sanjheev Rao (WLU) def. Trevor Rein (UMW), 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (11-9)
 
B2 Singles
Semifinals
Andrew Cooper (UMW) def. Jake Vo (WLU), 6-2, 1-0 (ret.)
 
Championship Doubles
Round of 16
Evan Erb/Eli Hirshberg (WLU) def. Zac Ashtiani/Gonzalo Gentou (F&M), 8-3
Ashton Legum/Edvard Porsmyr Hansen (CNU) def. Heys Parker/Josh Rassin (WLU), 8-7 (7-4)
 
Quarterfinals
Raghav Jangbahadur/Daniel Kong (CMU) def. Evan Erb/Eli Hirshberg (WLU), 8-6
 
Consolation – Round of 16
Vivekraj Harinarayan/Sebastian Wroe (SIT) def. Connor Coleman/James Kurani (WLU), 8-5
 
B1 Doubles
Semifinals
Sanjheev Rao/Jake Vo (WLU) def. Aron Bursztyn/Russell Willenborg (SAL), 8-4
 
Championship
Kazuki Fukushima/Jaeden Mukkaladyil (AU) def. Sanjheev Rao/Jake Vo (WLU), 8-4
 

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Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.