STILLWATER, Okla. -- A historical season came to an abrupt end for Radu Papoe, as the junior fell in a tough three-set battle (2-6, 6-4, 4-6) to Ohio State's Jack Anthrop in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Singles Championship on Monday from Greenwood Tennis Center. 

Papoe, a unanimous first team All-Ivy selection for the second consecutive season, came into the tournament as a 9-16 seed. The junior rebounded after a rough start out of the gate, claiming a 6-4 win in the second set to set up a decisive third. The junior and redshirt sophomore went back and forth in the third by trading the first eight games to get deadlocked a 4-4. Anthrop pulled ahead immediately, using a forehand winner down the right side to pull ahead 5-4. Papoe did not go away quietly, racing to a 30-0 lead in the tenth game. But Anthrop pulled alongside Papoe before sending the battle to match point up 40-30. Papoe would try a forehand down the left side on a return that slammed into the net, sealing the upset for Anthrop. Anthrop's victory puts him in the Round of 32 tomorrow against Oregon's Quinn Vandecasteele. 

The junior closes his season with a 21-7 overall mark alongside becoming just the second Cornell player to win Ivy League Player of the Year honors. His seeding at the singles championship also guarantees the Romanian an All-American nod, making him the first player in program history to receive the honor.