Friday, October 2
Claremont, CA
UC Santa Cruz Athletics
vs
ITA Regionals
Banana Slugs Wrap Up 2026 ITA West Regional Championships
10/5/2026 12:12:00 PM | Men's Tennis
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The UC Santa Cruz men's tennis team wrapped up a full three day weekend at the 2026 ITA Division III West Regional Championships, held October 2-4, 2026. The Banana Slugs battled through both the main draw and consolation bracket across every flight with Hari Raghavan capturing the Flight C Singles Championship.
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Singles Results
Benjamin Wang represented UC Santa Cruz in the tournament's top singles division. Facing the No. 2 overall seed in the Round of 32, Wang turned in a competitive opening set but fell 7-5, 6-2. Wang went on to fight through the consolation rounds, earning a 6-7, 6-1 (12-10) victory in the semifinals before dropping the consolation final 7-5, 6-0.
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In Flight B, Rocco Melendez highlighted the team's efforts, winning the Round of 32 6-3, 6-0 before dropping the Round of 16 6-1, 7-5. Paul Dandler also had a strong showing in Flight B. Dandler lost a hard fought match 4-6, 6-2 (10-7) but fought back all the way through to the consolation final, winning the Consolation Championship 7-6, 6-1 over the tournament's No. 5 seed.
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Hari Raghavan was the highlight of the weekend, working out of the C Flight, Raghavan won his opening match 6-1, 6-1 before winning the Round of 16 6-0, 6-2. Raghavan went on to win the Quarterfinal 6-2, 1-0 with his opponent retiring from injury. In the semifinal, Raghavan earned the 6-3, 6-2 victory before claiming the Flight C Championship 6-1, 6-1 to end the weekend.
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Doubles Results
The doubles team of Caden Wong and Paul Dandler won their opening match 8-6 before winning the Round of 16 8-4. The duo later fell 8-4 in the quarterfinals. Benjamin Wang and Rocco Melendez fell in the main draw but later advanced to the consolation quarterfinals, dropping their match 8-5.
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In the B Flight, Gavin Sonntag and Lucas Smolko had a stellar showing, winning the semifinals 8-2 before winning the Championship 8-3.
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Singles Results
Benjamin Wang represented UC Santa Cruz in the tournament's top singles division. Facing the No. 2 overall seed in the Round of 32, Wang turned in a competitive opening set but fell 7-5, 6-2. Wang went on to fight through the consolation rounds, earning a 6-7, 6-1 (12-10) victory in the semifinals before dropping the consolation final 7-5, 6-0.
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In Flight B, Rocco Melendez highlighted the team's efforts, winning the Round of 32 6-3, 6-0 before dropping the Round of 16 6-1, 7-5. Paul Dandler also had a strong showing in Flight B. Dandler lost a hard fought match 4-6, 6-2 (10-7) but fought back all the way through to the consolation final, winning the Consolation Championship 7-6, 6-1 over the tournament's No. 5 seed.
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Hari Raghavan was the highlight of the weekend, working out of the C Flight, Raghavan won his opening match 6-1, 6-1 before winning the Round of 16 6-0, 6-2. Raghavan went on to win the Quarterfinal 6-2, 1-0 with his opponent retiring from injury. In the semifinal, Raghavan earned the 6-3, 6-2 victory before claiming the Flight C Championship 6-1, 6-1 to end the weekend.
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Doubles Results
The doubles team of Caden Wong and Paul Dandler won their opening match 8-6 before winning the Round of 16 8-4. The duo later fell 8-4 in the quarterfinals. Benjamin Wang and Rocco Melendez fell in the main draw but later advanced to the consolation quarterfinals, dropping their match 8-5.
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In the B Flight, Gavin Sonntag and Lucas Smolko had a stellar showing, winning the semifinals 8-2 before winning the Championship 8-3.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
