PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Abhishek Pradhan paced Franklin & Marshall with an opening match win in the Pool Division (Men's A Draw) at the CSA Individual Championships on Friday, before falling in the round of 16, to highlight five participants in the bracket, while a pair of Diplomats competed in the Molloy Division (Men's B Draw).
Pradhan, ranked No. 7 entering the tournament, took down Harvard's Nigel Koh in the championship bracket with a hard-fought 2-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 come-back victory. In the round of 16, Pradhan battled Rochester's Mario Yanez Tapai but was outdueled by a 3-2 score (11-9, 10-12, 11-5, 8-11, 11-7). Tomorrow, he will face off against No. 15 Ryosei Kobayashi of Rochester in the consolations.
Jack Cutler also competed for the Diplomats in the Pool Division, falling in his opening match by a 3-1 tally (13-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-5). Mauricio Sedano also dropped his opening round matchup to No. 8 Samuel Kang of Princeton by a 3-1 score (9-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-4). Teammates Cutler and Sedano then met in the consolation bracket with Sedano coming out victorious in a 3-1 win (11-2, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5). Tomorrow, he will square off with Trinity's Vrishab Kotian in the consolations.
Wesley "Cole" Osborne fell No. 6 Neil Cordell of Rochester in his opener (11-7, 12-10, 11-4), while Pedro Veiga de Almeida also dropped down to the consolation bracket after a 3-0 loss (11-7, 14-12, 11-8) to Trinity's Juan Vargas. Both Diplomats saw their season come to an end with losses in the consolation bracket.
Dylan Cunningham earned a pair of victories in the Molloy Division to advance to tomorrow's round of 16 where he will face off against Dartmouth's Fletcher Pease. In his opening match, Cunningham advanced with a 3-1 win (11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 11-4) over Johns Hopkins' Harrison Finkelstein before dropping Trinity's Affeeq Ismail in a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7) marathon decision.
Brian Henry, also competing in the Malloy Division, dropped down to the consolation bracket with a loss in the round of 64 but answered with a dominant 3-0 sweep (11-5, 11-2, 11-1) of Haverford's Shane Vestrich-Shade.
Brackets will be updated throughout the day tomorrow and can be found here.
