PRINCETON, N.J. -- Cornell men's tennis junior Radu Papoe has locked up a berth to the ITA National Fall Championships after reaching the finals of the ITA Super Regional Championships on Monday afternoon.  

After defeating Harvard's Daniel Milavsky in Sunday's quarterfinals, Papoe had No. 7 seeded Paul Inchauspe of Princeton standing in the way of his first trip to the National Fall Championships. The first set swung in the Romanian's favor, as he took a 6-4 win, putting him one set away. Inchauspe made Papoe work for it in the second frame, as he tied the set late at 6-6 to set up a tiebreaker, making it the fourth-straight match that the No. 2 seeded Papoe had to deal with extra tennis. But like the three others before, the junior came out victorious with a 7-4 win to move on to the finals and punch his ticket to San Diego. 

With the automatic berth already clinched, Papoe still had some hardware to play for, as he matched up with freshman Cooper Williams of Harvard in the finals. The junior and freshman would battle throughout both sets, but Williams would come out with the win, defeating Papoe in straight sets (7-6, 6-4). 

Papoe is the first Cornell men's tennis player to earn a spot in the National Fall Championships since Alafi Ayeni '22 reached the tournament in 2021. 

The junior will have about a week off before he sets off to San Diego for the national tournament, which begins on Wednesday, Nov. 1, from the Barnes Tennis Center.

Monday Results

SF: Radu Papoe (Cornell) def. Paul Inchauspe (Princeton), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
F: Cooper Williams (Harvard) def. Radu Papoe (Cornell), 7-6, 6-4