SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Yellowjacket men's tennis team opened day one of the 2024 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regionals, along with this year's Midwest Invite, hosted by Gustavus Adolphus College.
 
The Yellowjackets sent eight players down I-35 South to partake in the action. Headlining the group was junior Igor Guetten Chaves (Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil/Colégio Adventista), who became the first Yellowjacket in program history to get seeded, along with making the round of 32 singles.
 
Tournament Notes

• Guetten Chaves received a bye in the first round, giving way to Andrew Labelle of Carroll College. Despite falling 5-7, he came back to win 6-1 and ended up winning 10-8, capping his singles action on a high note heading into day two.
• Sharan Kanugovi (Bangalore, Karnataka/New Baldwin International School) faced off against Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) competitor Parker Sprague of UW-Whitewater. Kanugovi would fall by decisions of 6-2 and 6-4.
• The final singles entry for the Yellowjackets came in Jacob Zacharias (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti), as he fell to Luther's Ricky Portilla 6-3, 7-5.
• Shifting to doubles action, the duo of Guetten Chaves and Kanugovi fell to their counterparts from St. Olaf 8-4.
• Yash Chhabra (Jaipur, Rajasthan/Sanskar School) and Lucca Paladini (Blumenu, Brazil/Colegio Saber) faced off against Concordia College's Logan Sandberg and Kai Kringlie. The 'Jackets would drop the match by an 8-4 decision.
• Transitioning to the Midwest Regionals, singles competitions began with Chhabra and Josh Tiemann from Coe, as the Kohawks came out on top with 6-2, 6-2 victories.
• Grabbing the first singles victory was Brandon Chu (Rogers, Minn./Rogers), who opened with a 6-0 victory before taking a 6-2 loss before rallying to a 10-7 decision, downing his counterpart from Bethel. Shifting to his round of 64 match, Gavin Murrie of Dubuque fell 6-4 in the first before Chu fell 6-2. With the third game coming down to the wire, Chu ultimately fell in a tight 11-9 contest.
• Earning a pair of solo victories came in Lucca Paladini (Blumenu, Brazil/Colegio Saber), making quick work of Justin Hutchcroft 6-0, 6-1. His momentum carried into the round of 64, as he defeated fellow Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) foe Griffen Jarchow by marks of 6-2, 6-2. His luck would run out, however, as he suffered two 6-1 losses by Owen Skanse of the tournament-host Gusties.
• Blake Haugen (Fairmont, Minn./Fairmont) saw his first singles action in the round of 64, falling to UW-Stevens Point's Ben Temple by scores of 6-1, 6-0.
• Eli Olson of Gustavus Adolphus picked up 6-0 and 6-2 victories over Ben Kangas (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown) in the round of 128.
• Mateo Abarca Pino (Riobamba, Ecuador/El Despertar) earned a clean sweep of Austin Droeger from Crown (6-0, 6-0), before falling to Madden Vanderwerf of St. Olaf by 6-2, 6-4 decisions.
• The only two doubles action of the Midwest Invite came in the duos of Chu and Abarca Pino, alongside Zacharias and Haugen. Both taking on MSOE, Chu and Abarca Pino dropped a close 8-7 match before Zacharias and Haugen fell 8-4 to the Raiders.

 
Day two of the ITAs and the Midwest Regionals commence Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. across various venues around the Saint Peter area.