ORLANDO, Fla. - NC Wesleyan University senior, #6 ranked Jhonny Acosta, cruised to a straight-set first round win in the NCAA Div. III Men's Tennis Individual Championships from the USTA National Campus in Orlando on Friday morning.
Acosta then won his second match of the day on Friday in the Round of 16 defeating Wisconsin-Whitewater's John Zakowski 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) to advance to Saturday morning's quarterfinal action.
"Jhonny represented NC Wesleyan very well today. He played with tremendous heart and passion to defeat two elite players," commented head coach Albie Brice. "A NCAA championship is now just three matches away and I know Jhonny will fight to bring it home for the Bishops!"
Jhonny then played 2nd seeded Stan Morris of Middlebury (VT) at 10:00 AM on Saturday in the National Quarterfinals, but fell in straight sets 5-7, 3-6 to the steady #2 seed. Morris went on to win the individual championship as well.
The quarterfinal matchup between Acosta and Morris was actually the second meeting of the season between the top-ranked foes. Morris defeated Acosta 6-4, 7-6 in the ITA Cup Semifinals back in October.
Acosta finishes the year 22-7 on the season. Morris is the top-ranked player in the Northeast Region and won a three-set battle in the second round on Friday while Acosta became an All-American this season.
Morris will now meet the top-ranked player from the West Region in the National Semifinals later Saturday while the top half of the bracket sees Johns Hopkins' #2 Vishnu Joshi play Tufts' #1 Isaac Gorelik. Gorelik defeated Acosta last weekend in the Team Championships Regional Final 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 in a tightly played match.
In the first round Friday morning, Acosta dominated his foe from national runner-up Case Western Reserve (OH), Vishwa Aduru, defeating him 6-2, 6-3 to get him rolling on the day.
Acosta's opponent in the second round on Friday afternoon had won a three-set battle earlier Friday. Zakowski is ranked 2nd in his Central Region while Acosta is ranked first in the Atlantic South Region.
Acosta is the reigning ITA South Region Champion and USA South Team Champion and Conference Player of the Year.
