ORLANDO, Fla. – TCNJ fifth-year standout Matthew Michibata conceded a pair of marathon matches at the NCAA Division III individual championships on Thursday, one in singles and another alongside first-year partner Harrison Maitland-Carter in doubles.
Michibata was dealt a daunting draw in the singles championship, matched up with fifth-seeded Advik Mareedu of Claremont-Mudd Scripps. The rookie captured the ITA Cup singles national title in the fall and was named SCIAC Athlete of the Year, but the Lions veteran was more than up for the challenge.
Michibata came out firing and took the first set, 6-3, before Mareedu countered with the same score in the second. That set up a decisive third frame, and Michibata was on the precipice of an upset, with a 5-3 lead and a 40-30 advantage on his serve. With no-ad scoring, that meant a pair of match points for the TCNJ star, but Mareedu fought off both to break back for 4-5.
Michibata got to deuce on Mareedu’s serve, but the latter managed to hold for 5-5. The slugfest extended to a winner-take-all tiebreaker after both held for 6-6, and Mareedu came up with enough to edge out a 7-4 decision.
Perhaps exhausted by Michibata’s efforts, Mareedu dropped a 6-1, 6-2 match to Williams’ Matthew Kandel in the second round later in the day.
Michibata returned to the courts alongside Maitland-Carter for the doubles championship, and the TCNJ tandem roared to a 6-2 victory in the first set against fourth-seeded Nick Aney and Daniel Fouchier of Gustavus Adolphus. Locked at 5-5 in the second stanza, the Gusties grouping pulled out the next to games to take the set, 7-5, before claiming the decisive third by a 6-2 score.
Michibata concluded a spectacular fifth season as the NJAC East Division Player of the Year and a first-time NCAA qualifier in both singles and doubles. Maitand-Carter, the NJAC East Division Rookie of the Year, also made his NCAA debut.