MEDFORD, MA – The members of the Amherst College men's tennis team wrapped up their matches at the ITA New England Regional tournament on Sunday after three days of competing.

On Saturday, the journey unfortunately came to an end for many Amherst players, as two players lost in the B Draw quarterfinals, one player lost in the Round of 16, and the two remaining doubles teams also fell in the Round of 16. Junior Andreas Sillaste was the only one to survive until the final day of the tournament with two straight-set wins on Saturday in the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals.

A standout match from Saturday was the Round of 16 match between two Greek players: Amherst's George Chaidemenos and Bowdoin's Mark Kneiss. After a 3-hour physical battle, Mark Kneiss came up on top in the third set, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals and eventually win the tournament.

On Sunday, Andreas Sillaste battled another Polar Bear as he faced Bowdoin's Kiran Garapati, who had had an impressive tournament so far by making it to the semifinals in both singles and doubles. After being down 3-6, 0-2, Sillaste found a way to fight back and clinch the victory, and advance to the championship match. In the final, Andreas Sillaste fell to Mark Kneiss, who beat his second Mammoth of the weekend to seize the New England championship. The final match was also a three-set match, with Mark Kneiss winning 6-1 in the third.

Both Andreas Sillaste and Mark Kneiss qualified for the ITA Cup held in Rome, GA, on October 16-19. The ITA Cup brings together the finalists from each region

RESULTS:
Singles:

A Draw:
(R16) Mark Kneiss (Bowdoin) def. George Chaidemenos (A) 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
(R16) Andreas Sillaste (A)  def. Harry Collomb (Wesleyan) 6-1, 6-0
(QF) Andreas Sillaste (A) def. Reif Larsen (Middlebury) 6-3, 6-2
(SF) Andreas Sillaste (A) def. Kiran Garapati (Bowdoin) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
(F) Mark Kneiss (Bowdoin) def. Andreas Sillaste (A) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1

B Draw: 
(R16) Albert Hu (A) def. Max Lidman (Babson) 6-4, 6-4
(R16) Ronald Gualario (A) def. Andy Yim (Middlebury) 7-5, 2-6, 10-5
(QF) Jackson Rich (Tufts) def. Albert Hu (A) 7-5, 6-4
(QF) Aidan Wang-Fan (Brandeis) def. Ronald Gualario (A) 6-7 (4), 7-6 (7), 10-8

Doubles:
(R16) Tyler Li / Hunter Liao (MIT) def. Andreas Sillaste/George Chaidemenos (A)
(R16) Stavros Mastrogamvrakis/Jackson Rich (Tufts) def. Lukas Frangenberg/Albert Hu (A) 8-3

UP NEXT: 
Andreas Sillaste will play in the ITA Cup, starting on October 16th at Berry College in Rome, GA.