CHATANOOGA, TN- The No. 7 Swarthmore College men's tennis team had two singles competitors and one doubles pairing compete at the NCAA Individual Championships on Saturday.
Michael Melnikov captured his fourth-straight All-American singles honor, marking the seventh All-American accolade of his career. The senior secured the distinction by winning his opening-round match at this fall's ITA Cup, but also met All-American standards by earning a top-eight seed in the NCAA tournament and winning his opening round draw.
Max Lindstrom secured his first career All-American distinction, battling for a hard-fought win in his opening round matchup. Lindstrom and Melnikov became the first Swarthmore duo to earn All-American status in the same season since Tom Cantine, Steve Tignor and Lee Tucker all accomplished the feat in 1991.
Melnikov punched his ticket to tomorrow's quarterfinals with a pair of victories on the afternoon, while Lindstrom dropped a hard-fought, three-set showdown to the tournament's fifth seed. Melnikov also paired with
Utham Koduri in the doubles bracket, but came out on the losing end of a back-and-forth thriller in the opening round.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Melnikov opened the singles tournament with a dominant performance against WashU's Colin Scruggs. The second-seeded senior overcame an early 2-1 deficit to take the opening set, 6-2, winning the final five games. He then dropped the first game of the second set before responding with six-straight games to secure a 6-1 victory.
- Melnikov returned to action in the Round of 16, defeating Case Western Reserve's Santiago Salazar Garza in straight sets. The seven-time All-American earned a pair of convincing 6-3 victories to advance into tomorrow's quarterfinals to play the seventh-seeded Kael Shah.
- Lindstrom pulled out a gutsy win in his opening-round match against Rochester Institute of Technology's Yu Tanimoto. The senior fell 6-4 in the opening set after battling evenly with his opponent throughout much of the stanza. Lindstrom held an early 3-2 advantage before surrendering three-straight games to fall behind. Lindstrom then took back control to win the second set. The competitors traded the opening eight games, before Lindstrom went on a 3-0 run to force a third set. Lindstrom wore down his opponent in the third set, cruising to a 6-0 win. The senior won nine-straight games to secure All-American status for the first time in his career.
- Later in the afternoon, Lindstrom fell in the Round of 32 to fifth-ranked Shrikeshav Murugesan from the University of Chicago. Lindstrom powered his way to an opening set victory with a 6-4 win. The senior won a pair of back-to-back games in the opener, while preventing his opponent from rallying. Lindstrom held strong midway through the second set with a 3-2 advantage, but lost four-straight games to force an extra set. His challenger maintained momentum in the finale, clinching the match with a 6-0 victory.
- Melnikov/ Koduri dropped a three-set thriller to Denison University in doubles action. The Garnet duo dropped the opening stanza 7-6 [7-2], while bouncing back with a 7-6 [7-1] result in the second set. Swarthmore fell behind in both of the sets, but battled back to force a pair of tiebreakers. Denison went on to outlast the Garnet with a 7-6 [7-5] finale in another intense battle. Melnikov/ Koduri trailed early again, but showed incredible resilience and stamina to force a third tiebreaker. Melnikov will battle Kael Shah, who was a member of the Denison duo, in tomorrow's singles quarterfinals.
UP NEXT
Melnikov returns to action tomorrow in the singles quarterfinals. Match time is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.
