WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Senior Tom Fawcett dropped a three-set thriller in the opening round of the NCAA Singles Championship Wednesday at the Wake Forest Sports Complex.
The Cardinal senior, ranked No. 9 in the most recent ITA poll, fell in three sets to No. 23 Giovanni Oradini of Mississippi State, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Fawcett came back from a 3-2 deficit to win the next four games and take the opening set. The Cardinal senior and Mississippi State sophomore were tied at 4-4 in the second set, before Oradini jumped ahead, 5-4 and broke Fawcett to take the second set. Down 5-1 in the third set, Fawcett tried to climb back and got within 5-3 before Oradini clinched it to advance.
With the defeat, Fawcett concluded his singles career on The Farm with a 90-36 record. He is No. 27 on the Stanford career dual wins list with 53 career dual victories. He finished his senior season 20-6 overall with an 11-4 mark in dual play. Fawcett defeated 10 nationally-ranked opponents this season.
The senior has participated in the NCAA Singles Championship all four years. He reached the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championship last season, earning All-America honors.
Fawcett turns his focus to the NCAA Doubles Championship, where he will team with freshman Axel Geller in the 32-team field that begins Thursday. The pair, ranked No. 32 in the ITA poll, will face the ITA's No. 5 ranked team of Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez from Florida in the first round at 2 p.m. PT. Ingildsen and Perez are the No. 4 overall seed in the doubles tournament.
Live scoring and live video will be available on the NCAA Championships Central page.
The NCAA Doubles Championship continues throughout the week, with round of 16 matches Friday, the quarterfinals slated for Saturday, semifinals Sunday and the Championship match contested Monday.