CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Junior
Rodrigo Fernandes, senior
Eric Verdes and freshman
Cezar Papoe each won twice Saturday to reach the singles quarterfinals on the third day of the 2026 ITA Division I Men's New England Regional Championship, hosted by Harvard. Three Cornell men's tennis doubles pairs also advanced to the round of 16.
Verdes, the ninth seed, earned the Big Red's biggest win of the tournament in the round of 16, beating Harvard's third-seeded Nathan Blokhin, No. 44 nationally, 6-4, 7-5. Earlier in the day, Verdes beat Brown's James Lian, 6-2, 6-2.
Fernandes, the top seed and No. 16 nationally, kept rolling with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Harvard's David Wu and a 6-2, 6-2 win over 16th-seeded Robert Yang of Brown. He has dropped just 11 games in three singles matches at the regional.
Papoe, seeded fourth and ranked No. 100, took a first-set tiebreak on his way to a 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Yale's Magnus Weng. He followed with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Dartmouth's Kornel Halmos.
Junior
Rushil Khosla, fifth-seeded sophomore
Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar and eighth-seeded freshman David Carteputreda all exited in the round of 32.
In doubles, Verdes and Fernandes, the top seed and No. 57 nationally, edged Quinnipiac's Elias Hoxha and Finn Burridge, 8-7 (3). Senior
Felipe Pinzon and Papoe, the seventh seed, beat Siena's Mateja Stefanovic and Mars Argun, 8-4. Khosla and Senthil Kumar, the second seed and No. 67 nationally, beat Merrimack's Arjun Bhatia and Bjorn Hedegaard-Friis, 8-5. Freshman
Greg Bernadsky and Carteputreda were the only Big Red pair eliminated in the round of 32, dropping an 8-7 (6) decision to Colgate's Parker McGowan and Tim Vargas.
Sunday's action begins with the doubles round of 16 and quarterfinals, followed by the singles quarterfinals. Verdes and Fernandes face Brown's 13th-seeded Cole Oberg and Elliot Wasserman. Pinzon and Papoe meet another Brown pair, 15th-seeded Ivan Sodan and Yang. Khosla and Senthil Kumar take on Buffalo's Connor Doig and Minjae Kim, who upset Dartmouth's 12th-seeded duo of Adrian Treacy and Malhar Patelin in the round of 32.
In singles, Fernandes faces Harvard's sixth-seeded Bill Chan, and Verdes meets 10th-seeded Mitchell Lee, also of Harvard. Papoe draws Yale's seventh-seeded Edward Liao, who beat Khosla in the round of 32.
ITA Division I Men's New England Regional Championship
Saturday, Oct. 10 – Results
Doubles – Round of 32
[1] #57
Eric Verdes/
Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell) def. Elias Hoxha/Finn Burridge (Quinnipiac), 8-7 (3)
Parker McGowan/Tim Vargas (Colgate) def.
Greg Bernadsky/
David Cristian Carteputreda (Cornell), 8-7 (6)
[7]
Felipe Pinzon/
Cezar Papoe (Cornell) def. Mateja Stefanovic/Mars Argun (Siena), 8-4
[2] #67
Rushil Khosla/
Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar (Cornell) def. Arjun Bhatia/Bjorn Hedegaard-Friis (Merrimack), 8-5
Singles – Round of 32
[1] #16
Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell) def. David Wu (Harvard), 6-1, 6-2
[9]
Eric Verdes (Cornell) def. James Lian (Brown), 6-2, 6-2
Leo Pade (Dartmouth) def. [8]
David Cristian Carteputreda (Cornell), walkover
[7] Edward Liao (Yale) def.
Rushil Khosla (Cornell), 6-4, 7-5
[4] #100
Cezar Papoe (Cornell) def. Magnus Weng (Yale), 7-6 (3), 6-4
Zachary Cohen (Harvard) def. [5]
Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar (Cornell), 7-6 (4), 7-5
Singles – Round of 16
[1] #16
Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell) def. [16] Robert Yang (Brown), 6-2, 6-2
[9]
Eric Verdes (Cornell) def. [3] #44 Nathan Blokhin (Harvard), 6-4, 7-5
[4] #100
Cezar Papoe (Cornell) def. Kornel Halmos (Dartmouth), 7-5, 6-3
Sunday, Oct. 11 – Schedule
All times are tentative and subject to change.
Doubles – Round of 16
10 a.m. – [1] #57
Eric Verdes/
Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell) vs. [13] Cole Oberg/Elliot Wasserman (Brown)
10 a.m. – [7]
Felipe Pinzon/
Cezar Papoe (Cornell) vs. [15] Ivan Sodan/Robert Yang (Brown)
10 a.m. – [2] #67
Rushil Khosla/
Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar (Cornell) vs. Connor Doig/Minjae Kim (Buffalo)
Doubles – Quarterfinals
11 a.m. – [1] Verdes/Fernandes or [13] Oberg/Wasserman vs. [6] Edward Liao/Zhengqing Ji (Yale) or Lucas Kimelman/Tej Bhagra (Brown)
11 a.m. – [7] Pinzon/Papoe or [15] Sodan/Yang vs. [11] Carlos Braun Simo/Matthew Overvelde (Boston College) or Filipe Costa/Zihe Liao (Binghamton)
11 a.m. – [2] Khosla/Senthil Kumar or Doig/Kim vs. [8] Mitchell Lee/James MacDonald (Harvard) or Gabriel Segubiense/Emmanuel Cottle (Le Moyne)
Singles – Quarterfinals
2 p.m. – [1] #16
Rodrigo Fernandes (Cornell) vs. [6] Bill Chan (Harvard)
2 p.m. – [9]
Eric Verdes (Cornell) vs. [10] Mitchell Lee (Harvard)
2 p.m. – [4] #100
Cezar Papoe (Cornell) vs. [7] Edward Liao (Yale)
