GRANVILLE, OH - The No. 9 Swarthmore College men's tennis team began NCAA Tournament play with a 4-0 win over No. 37 North Central College in Saturday afternoon's second-round match. With the victory, the Garnet advance to the Sweet 16, where they battle the host No. 2 Denison University on Sunday. 

Aamish Pal clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 6 singles. Lalith Suresh and Rishi Verma also added singles wins at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
DOUBLES
- At No. 2 doubles, Andres Fente/ Kai Chen earned Swarthmore's first victory with a commanding 6-1 win, jumping out to an early lead and maintaining control throughout. The All-Centennial second-team pair has won seven of their last eight matches with six of their victories coming against nationally-ranked schools. 

- Michael Melnikov/ Utham Koduri clinched the doubles point with a strong finish at No. 1 action, winning three consecutive games to break a 3-3 tie and secure a 6-3 victory. The team is ranked fourth in the nation and first in the region, recently securing their third-straight bid to the NCAA Individual Championships. 


SINGLES
- Suresh dominated at No. 3 singles with a 6-1, 6-0 win, earning his ninth victory in his last 10 matches. 

- Verma continued his strong sophomore season with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles, improving to 2-0 in his NCAA Tournament career.

- Pal played the role of clincher with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles. The junior improved to 2-0 in his NCAA Tournament career, having also earned a victory at No. 6 singles against MIT as a first-year.

- Melnikov split sets at No. 1 singles before the match was left unfinished. He dropped the first set 6-4, but responded with a 6-4 win in the second to even the score.

- At No. 2 singles, Max Lindstrom won his opening set 6-2, and held a 5-4 advantage in the second set before the Garnet clinched a team victory. 

- Chen was in control of his match with a 6-3 victory in the opening set at No. 5 singles. He was leading 4-3 in the second set before the match went unfinished. 

UP NEXT
The Garnet (16-6) will face No. 2 Denison in tomorrow's Sweet 16 matchup. Swarthmore previously fell to the Big Red 5-2 earlier this season.