FREDERICKSBURG, VA – The Johns Hopkins men's tennis team opened its Fall season at the UMW Kickoff Classic this past weekend. Five Blue Jays won each of their three singles matches and one won all three of his doubles matches.
 
Senior Marco Azar went 3-0 on the weekend, including a pair of straight set wins. He opened with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Rayan El Khalifi (George Mason) and then defeated Evan Fisher (Mary Washington) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (8). He wrapped up singles' play with a 61-, 7-5 victory over Dustin Ha (George Mason). In doubles, Azar went 1-2 and paired with freshman Brian Yi for a 6-1 win over Drew Campbell and Albert Vladimirskiy (Mary Washington).
 
Freshman Mukundh Boopathi was 3-0 in singles in his collegiate debut, winning his first two in straight sets. He opened with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Rithik Manchala (Mary Washington) and then beat Ha 7-6 (3), 6-0. Boopathi closed out singles with a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (2) win over Marko Mdak (Longwood). He also went 2-1 in doubles with three different partners. Boopathi and junior Pranav Gadiraju dropped just one game in their win over Gary Huang and Ian Perl (Longwood). He then paired with freshman Andy Zhu to beat Vladimirskiy and Campbell, 6-3.
 
Gadiraju won all three of his singles' matches and two of his three doubles' matches. He kicked off the weekend with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Huang. He then beat Brock Ladehoff (Mary Washington) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (3). He then came from behind to beat Jack Riordan (Mary Washington) 4-6, 7-6 (5), 1-0 (6). In addition to his doubles' win with Boopathi, he partnered with sophomore Chakor Rajendra to beat Petter Lindquist and Alejandro Uribe (Longwood) 6-2.
 
Freshman Jason Li won each of his three singles' matches in his debut for the Blue Jays. He opened with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Aidan Meehan (Mary Washington) and then beat Keldibek Kozhoev (Mary Washington) 8-0. Li concluded singles' play with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Vladimirskiy.
 
Yi also won all three of his singles matches, without losing a set, and went 2-1 in doubles. He beat Will Fromherz (Mary Washington) 6-1, 6-2 in his first match. Yi then beat Ryan Meyer (Mary Washington) 6-2, 6-0 and took the first set, 6-1, in his third match before El Khalifi retired. In addition to his doubles' win with Azar, Yi paired with junior Joshua Kim for a 7-6 (3) win over Matt Scott and Ryan King (Mary Washington).
 
Freshman Owen Akers went 2-1 in singles and 1-1 in doubles in his collegiate debut. He earned his first win with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Campbell. He followed with a 6-3, 6-4 over Lindquist. Akers paired with freshman Jack Wexler to beat Ryan Foster and Seva Rusin (Longwood), 6-0. Graduate student Daniel Ardila won two of his three singles matches, with all three matches going to three sets. He opened with a come-from-behind win over Jacco Arends (George Mason) 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (8). Ardila then defeated Trevor Rein (Mary Washington) 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (5).
 
Freshman Dylan Blenkiron won his first two singles matches and finished with a 2-1 mark, while also going 1-2 in doubles. He opened with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Jack Riordan (Mary Washington) and then beat Ryan King (Mary Washington) 6-3, 6-0. In doubles, Blenkiron paired with junior Allen Gong for a 6-2 win over Arends and Zavan Fahim.
 
Freshman Jack Wexler went 2-1 in singles and 3-0 in doubles in his debut with the Blue Jays. He lost just one game in his first match, beating Perl 6-0, 6-1. He then came-from-behind to beat Vladimirskiy 6-7 (6), 6-4, 1-0 (5). In addition to his win with Akers, Wexler paired with Zhu to defeat Kozhoev and Meyer, 6-3. He also partnered with senior Zahari Stoimenov for a 7-5 win over Ha and El Khalifi.
 
Zhu went 2-0 in singles and 2-1 in doubles in his collegiate debut. He opened with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Rusin and then beat Campbell 6-2, 6-1. In doubles, Zhu paired with Wexler and Boopathi for two wins. Gong went 1-1 in singles as he beat Matt Scott (Mary Washington) 6-0, 6-4. In addition to his doubles' win, Stoimenov beat Kozhoev 6-2, 6-1 in singles.