GREENSBORO, N.C.- The seventh-seeded Guilford College men's tennis team is set to make its 18th consecutive appearance in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament as they head into Wednesday's Quarterfinals showdown against No. 2 seed Averett University. First serve is scheduled for 10:00 AM at Averett's campus in Danville, Virginia.
The Quakers (6-10, 4-5 ODAC) secured the No. 7 seed after wrapping up a competitive regular season. They will face an Averett team that has emerged as one of the conference's top contenders, finishing the regular season at 13-4 overall and 8-1 in ODAC play.
This is not unfamiliar territory for GC. During the 2022-2023 the Quakers made a first-round push by edging Shenandoah University 5-4 in the quarterfinals. Ironically, their tournament run was ended by Averett in the semifinals, falling 5-1 to the Cougars. Guilford will look to flip the script this time around, eyeing their first semifinal trip since then. Both teams faced off earlier this year on March 23rd, where the Cougars took a 6-1 win, with
Andres Mercedes (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) being the sole scorer for the Quakers.
The past couple of years hasn't been the kindest to the good guys, with their last victory over Averett dating back to the 2014-15 season, where they edged out a narrow 5-4 win.
Mercedes will be the key focus, as he's been the backbone of Guilford's lineup all season, delivering a stellar 17-3 singles record, including an 9-1 mark in ODAC play. His only conference loss came via retirement due to weather against Shenandoah University. In doubles, Mercedes is primarily paired with
Brandon Hermes (West Hartford, Conn.), both proving to be a dominant force, posting a 14-6 record and going 8-2 in conference matchups. The two will look to lead Guilford to an upset victory.
| Stats |
No. 2 Averett |
No. 7 Guilford |
| Record (Overall) |
13-4 |
6-10 |
| Record (ODAC) |
8-1 |
4-5 |
| Top Singles Player |
Satwik Kollepalli (8-11, 2-4 ODAC) |
Andres Mercedes (Santo (Domingo, Dominican Republic) (17-3, 9-1 ODAC) |
| Top Doubles Team |
Prabjeet Chandhok/Jaeden Mukkaladyil (7-6, 4-2 ODAC) |
Andres Mercedes/Brandon Hermes (14-6, 8-2 ODAC) |
Projected Singles Matchups:
| Position |
No. 2 Averett |
No. 7 Guilford |
| No. 1 |
Satwik Kollepalli (8-11, 2-4 ODAC) |
Andres Mercedes (Santo (Domingo, Dominican Republic) (17-3, 9-1 ODAC) |
| No. 2 |
Jaeden Mukkaladyil (16-4, 5-1 ODAC) |
Brandon Hermes (West Hartford, Conn.) (8-12, 3-6 ODAC) |
| No. 3 |
Florian Bert (12-8, 5-3 ODAC) |
Henry Austin (Winterville, N.C.) (7-14, 3-7 ODAC) |
| No. 4 |
Prabjeet Chandhok (13-7, 6-0 ODAC) |
Rylan Tuten (Asheville, N.C.) (7-12, 4-4 ODAC) |
| No. 5 |
Rafael Jodas (14-4, 7-1 ODAC) |
Even Wong (Greensboro, N.C.) (3-13, 5-5 ODAC) |
| No. 6 |
Lucas Fiandra (11-7, 6-2 ODAC) |
Emmanuel Oye (Clayton, N.C.) (4-7, 3-4 ODAC) |
Should Guilford advance, they would move on to the semifinals, set for Saturday, May 3, at Washington and Lee University. There, they would take on the winner of No. 3 Hampden-Sydney and No. 6 Randolph College.
#GoQuakes
