SAINT PAUL, Minn. – As the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) released its postseason men's tennis awards in an announcement Wednesday, the Yellowjackets saw seven of its players receive recognition.
Jacob Zacharias (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) and
Ren Kurachi (Yokohama, Japan/Yokosuka Gakuin) earned spots on the All-UMAC First Team, while
Davide Pelletti (Prado, Brazil),
Igor Guetten Chaves (Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil/Colégio Adventista),
Lucca Paladini (Blumenu, Brazil/Colegio Saber),
Sharan Kanugovi (Bangalore, Karnataka/New Baldwin International School) and
Yash Chhabra (Jaipur, Rajasthan/Sanskar School) claimed five-of-six spots on the All-UMAC Second Team. Zacharias also served as the Yellowjackets' representative on the All-Sportsmanship squad.
Zacharias finished his campaign with a record of 13-6 in singles play while obtaining a 9-10 mark in doubles. He improved in singles play as the season went on, as he carried a record of 8-2 to close out the campaign. Shifting to doubles action, Zacharias had eight different partners, finding the most success with teammates
Miles Dempsey (Golden, Colo./Green Mountain) and
Brandon Chu (Rogers, Minn./Rogers), going 3-0 and 2-0, respectively.
Kurachi went 8-9 in singles action during his sophomore season, while adding a mark of 13-10 in doubles play, competing in both the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. He found the most success in doubles after partnering with Guetten Chaves, as the duo posted an 11-7 mark.
Pelletti's records in the 2023-24 season came in at 5-2 and 12-6 in singles and doubles, respectively. He was slotted at No. 5 singles where he saw a 4-1 record but came up big for the 'Jackets as he picked up a 7-6, 6-2 victory against Bethany Lutheran in the second spot. Shifting to doubles, Pelletti had three partners throughout the season and found success with Kanugovi, going 12-4 at the No. 1 and 2 positions.
Guetten Chaves added another fine season under his belt, capping his sophomore year with a 10-7 singles record and 11-11 in doubles. His singles wins were split evenly between the first and second positions, while all seven tour victories came at the first spot.
Paladini posted a singles mark of 11-12 in his freshman season, while his UMAC record was a perfect 3-0, defeating his Northwestern, Crown, and Martin Luther counterparts. Doubles action saw Paladini partner with five different Yellowjackets, as he featured victories with Chhabra, Zacharias and Kanugovi on the year.
Kanugovi boasted a stellar team-leading 19-7 record in singles play while posting a 14-7 doubles mark. He emerged victorious in his first eight singles matches as a Yellowjacket on his way to a program-best 19 wins in a season. Kanugovi had four doubles partners in the 2023-24 season, meshing the best with Pelletti while accounting for 12 victories in the first and second slots.
Chhabra's first collegiate season saw him go 10-10 in singles play while adding six more victories in doubles. He won his first two singles matches along with his first doubles match alongside Zacharias, leading him to the first UMAC north division player of the week for the 2023-24 season. In conference play, he would go undefeated in both singles and doubles action.
The Yellowjackets capped the 2023-24 season at 13-10 overall, while earning a perfect 4-0 mark in UMAC play before falling in the UMAC semifinal match.
