CHATTANOOGA, TN. — Amherst's Andreas Sillaste made a strong NCAA singles debut on Saturday, winning twice in indoor matches at the McCallie School after rain moved play away from the main site at Champions Club. The Amherst junior beat third-seeded Ruilin Feng in the round of 32 and then handled Wisconsin-Whitewater's Theo Billson in the round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals against Carnegie Mellon's Alex Feies.

Round of 32

Sillaste's first match of the day started in frustrating fashion, as Feng raced through the first set 6–0. Sillaste answered with a strong second set, jumping out to a 5–0 lead before closing it 6–1, then carried that momentum into the third. Both players held serve until 3–3, when Sillaste earned the first break to move ahead 4–3; Feng broke right back, but Sillaste broke again for 5–4 and served out the match 6–4.

Round of 16

In the round of 16, Sillaste came out much sharper against Wisconsin-Whitewater's Theo Billson. He earned an early double break to build a 4–0 lead and cruised to a 6–2 first-set win. The second set opened with another break in the first game, and Sillaste finished the match with a late break in the final game on a deuce point to close out the straight-set victory.

RESULTS:

R32: Andreas Sillaste (A) def. Ruilin Feng (Emory), 0–6, 6–1, 6–4.

Andreas Sillaste (A) def. Theo Billson (Wisconsin-Whitewater), 6–2, 6–3.

UP NEXT

Sillaste now moves on to face Carnegie Mellon's Alex Feies in the quarterfinals at 10 am on Sunday, May 23rd. The matches in Chattanooga were played indoors because of rain, and Sillaste enters the next round with momentum after two solid wins in one day.