Advik Mareedu Closes Out ITA Cup with 1-2 Singles Record

ROME, Ga. - Advik Mareedu bounced back after dropping his opening round match at the ITA Cup to win his consolation quarterfinal in three sets, but he fell in the consolation semifinals to finish 1-2 at the Rome Tennis Center.

Mareedu won the national title at the ITA Cup as a first-year last season, and won his second straight ITA West Regional on Oct. 1 over Caleb Wilkins of Chapman, hoping to make it two straight national titles. 

However, Dean Kamenev of Emory was able to pull off the upset on Thursday with a 6-4, 7-5 win to send Mareedu into the consolation draw. He took a three-setter over Tsubasa Okada of RPI 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 to advance through to the consolation semifinals, but Ajay Mahenthiran of defending national champion Case Western was able to come through with a 6-3, 6-3 win. 

Despite the losses, Mareedu clinched All-America honors in singles for the second year in a row by winning the ITA West Regionals. He actually met several of the criteria needed for All-America honors in 2022-23, taking the ITA Cup, earning a top-10 ranking, and advancing in the NCAA Division III Singles championship in the spring. 

Mareedu and the Stags will return to action this spring with a full lineup after missing several key pieces in the fall season, due to injuries or studying abroad. In fact, four of the top six singles players during last year's run to the NCAA Semifinals were all missing this fall (No. 2 Matthew Robinson, No. 3 Ian Freer, No. 5 Warren Pham, No. 6 Daniel Blackman).