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\u201cI\u2019m really excited to continue playing the highest level players in college,\u201d Ardila told The Daily Princetonian. \u201cThe last few years, I was playing lower in the lineup, and now, with some of our great players having graduated, I am just now getting the opportunity to test my game against the highest-level opponents, which is really exciting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tigers Take on ITA Regionals<\/p>\n
Ardila and the Tigers couldn\u2019t celebrate for long, as the ITA Regionals quickly approached in mid-October at Penn. This gave them a chance to qualify for the NCAA tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Princeton entered with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the tournament, with first-year Simeon Stankovic and Ardila, respectively. Both made it to Day Three in the singles bracket alongside junior Milan Markovits, first-year Alex Luo, sophomore Jordan Reznik, and Mitric who bounced back after the Battle of the Bay Classic. The Princeton double pairings that advanced past Day Two were senior Paul Inchauspe with Ardila, Markovits with Reznik, Stankovic with Mitric and junior Meecah Bigun with Luo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite great performances from all the Tigers, Ardila again shined the brightest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His tournament didn\u2019t start off great. In the first round, Ardila found himself down 5\u20131 in the first set against an opponent he was supposed to beat comfortably on paper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t complain or make excuses and slowly worked my way back in the set, saving set points in style and ended up breaking my opponents serve three times in a row and winning 7\u20136,\u201d Ardila wrote to the \u2018Prince.\u2019 \u201cI think my new mindset and willingness to dig deep and not give up anything for free helped me claw my way back into that match, which was super important in gaining momentum for the rest of the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n And momentum he gained; after finishing off his first round opponent, he cruised past his next three straight matches. He then faced his toughest opponent yet, Columbia\u2019s third-seeded Damir Zhalgasbay. But after a close 7\u20135 tiebreaker, the Princeton senior held on with a dominant 6\u20133 set two win. This victory vaulted Ardila into the NCAA singles tournament that will take place next month in Athens, Ga.<\/p>\n Across the two tournaments, Ardila won twenty straight sets. After losing his entire Ivy League season last spring due to surgery, it is safe to say, he is back.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s always been a player that can be among the best in the country, but his professionalism as far as preparation […] working extra in the gym and his approach to practices have all contributed to more consistency,\u201d Head Coach Billy Pate told the \u2018Prince.\u2019 \u201cThe sky is the limit for him and I know he is incredibly excited to compete for the NCAA singles title.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s Ahead for the Princeton Men\u2019s Tennis<\/p>\n Just recently, Princeton hosted the Ivy League Championships from Oct. 23\u201326. In this individual tournament, players from all eight Ivy League men\u2019s tennis programs fought for an automatic bid to the ITA Conference Masters Championships.\u00a0<\/p>\n Princeton was represented by top seed Stankovic, eighth seed Luo, and unseeded Mitric and first-year Ford McCollum in the singles bracket. On the doubles side, Mitric and Stankovic were the third seeds in doubles with Luo and McCollum unseeded.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the singles bracket, Stankovic went the furthest, reaching the semifinals before falling to Penn\u2019s Shaurya Bharadwaj. Mitric also did very well, advancing to the quarterfinals before dropping a three-setter to Penn\u2019s Callum Markowitz.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Tigers weren\u2019t done yet. Stankovic and Mitric paired up for the doubles bracket and found even more success. After making swift work of the first three days of competition, including a dominant win over Penn\u2019s Vojetic Vales and Bharadwaj (8\u20135) in the semifinals, the international superstar duo made the finals. They were set to face Harvard\u2019s Benjamin Kinces and Nathan Blokhin, but the latter withdrew, making Princeton Ivy League doubles champions and ending a great tournament for the Tigers.<\/p>\n![\"Subscribe\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/subscribe-mail.png\")
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