The top-seeded Stanford University team of Neel Rajesh (above, left) and Samir Banerjee (above, right) were tested. Still, they prevailed in their second and third-round matches on Friday to advance to the fourth round of the 135th Annual Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.
Rajesh and Banerjee, who received a first-round bye, defeated the 17th-seeded independent team of brothers Dominic and Paul Barretto, 6-2, 6-4, in their third-round match. Earlier, they eliminated the University of California’s Alexander Aney and John Kim, 7-6 (4), 6-0 in the second round.
Rajesh, Stanford’s three-time captain, and Banerjee, the 2021 Wimbledon boys singles champion, raced to 3-0 leads in both sets in their match against the Barretto brothers, as they advanced with an impressive straight-set victory.
The No. 2-seeded team of Qian Sun and Alexander Chang, from the University of California, defeated Ball State’s Parish Simmons and Andrew Hayward, 6-4, 6-2 in their opening match. Next, they edged No. 17-seeded Zachary Pellouchoud and Pelayo Rodriguez, of the UC San Diego, 3-6, 6-4, [10-7].
After a first-round bye, third-seeded Volodymyr Iakubenko and Oscar Weightman of USC got past Cal’s Ethan Schiffman and Marco Alvarez, 7-5, 6-2 in a second-round encounter.
The fourth-seeded duo of Maximillian Homberg and Christopher Papa of Pepperdine University, beat Pomona’s Owen Kelly and Samuel English, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round and then eased past unseeded William Kasten and Matthew Overvelde of Boston College, 6-1, 6-3 in a third-round match.
San Diego State’s Chikaya Sato and Johannes Seeman, the tournament’s defending champions, powered their way past the independent team of Ben Brown and Leonard Thieler, 6-0, 6-2 in the first round. The 17th-seeded Aztec duo was victorious in the second round as they edged Ball State’s Jacks Lancaster and Mason Tran, 6-7 (5), 6-0, [10-4].
However, Sato and Seeman’s tournament run ended in the third round as they fell to Eric Johnson and Bryce Pereira of USC, 6-7 (5), 6-4, [10-5].
To view the 2024 Tournament Draw, click here.
La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club welcomes tennis spectators to view the tournament with free admission. On-site parking is available for a nominal fee.
The starting times for the remaining days of the tournament will be as follows: Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3 – 9 a.m. During the tournament, live streaming is available on Court No. 1 and Court No. 2. To view live streaming, click here.