BOX SCORE
Fredericksburg, Va. – The George Mason men's tennis team excelled at the UMW Kickoff Classic, completing the tournament with four student-athletes sweeping their singles matches.
 
The Patriots combined to achieve an outstanding 18-6 singles record and 8-6 doubles record in Fredericksburg, Va., at the University of Mary Washington Kickoff Classic against student-athletes from Johns Hopkins, Longwood, Mary Washington, and Washington College.
 
Senior Monil Lotlikar completed the tournament with a singles record of 3-0, including a 6-4, 6-2 win over Johns Hopkins' Dylan Lenkiron, a 6-3,6-0 win over Longwood's Ninad Raut, and an 8-2 victory over Mary Washington's Evan Fisher. Lotlikar partnered with graduate student Niza Simunyola to achieve a 2-1 doubles record, defeating Johns Hopkins' Chakor Rajendra and Allen Gong, 6-4 and Longwood's Timeo Puech and Marko Mrdak, 7-6.
 
Freshman Nicholas Novitski achieved a 2-0 singles record, defeating Owen Akers of Johns Hopkins, 2-6, 6-4, 10-7, and Johns Hopkins' Pranav Gadiraju, 3-6, 6-2, 10-7. Novitski paired up with freshman Edgar Vilain to obtain one doubles win against Longwood's Marko Mrdak and Ryan Foster, 6-3.
 
In his second tournament for the Patriots, freshman Adria Franco completed the tournament with a 3-0 singles record, defeating Jason Li of Johns Hopkins, 6-4, 6-3, Longwood's Petter Lindquist, 6-2, 0-6, 10-3, and Mary Washington's Ryan Battaglia, 8-5. Franco teamed up with senior Zavan Fahim to complete the tournament with a 2-1 doubles record, defeating Johns Hopkins' Mukundh Boopathi and Jason Li, 6-2, and Mary Washington's Aidan Meehan and Cooper Lehman, 6-1.
 
Freshman Edgar Vilain finished the tournament with a 2-0 singles record with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Johns Hopkins' Pranav Gadiraju and Washington College's Petter Storberg, 6-0, 6-1.
 
Sophomore Shari Saeed and junior Deniz Okyay teamed up to sweep their doubles matches, achieving a 3-0 tournament record. The pair defeated Johns Hopkins' Pranav Gadiraju and Andy Zhu, 6-0, Mary Washington's Ryan Gipner and Ryan Battaglia, 6-3, and Longwood's Rufus Plane and Ninad Raut, 6-4.

Saeed, Fahim, and Okyay all completed the tournament with a 2-1 singles record. Saeed defeated Johns Hopkins' Joshua Kim, 6-3, 6-2, and Cooper Lehman of Mary Washington, 8-6. Fahim obtained wins over Brian Yi of Johns Hopkins, 6-0, 7-5, and Mary Washington's Rithik Manchala, 8-5. Okyay defeated Johns Hopkins' Allen Gong, 6-2, 4-6, 10-4, and Ryan Gipner of Mary Washington, 8-4.
 
Simunyola and Senior Ekansh Kumar both finished the tournament with one win. Simunyola defeated Johns Hopkins' Mukundh Boopathi, 6-2, 6-2. Kumar obtained a victory over Johns Hopkins' Chakor Rajendra, 7-5, 6-3.
 
Up Next
George Mason Men's Tennis will host the UTR Fundraising Event at the Mason Tennis Complex from Saturday, Sept. 27 to Sunday, Sept. 28. The Patriots then travel to Davidson, Nc. to compete in the A10 Qualification Tournament from Friday, Oct. 3 to Sunday, Oct. 5.