Cornell sophomore Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar won his sixth consecutive singles match Thursday, advancing to the round of 16 at the ITA Conference Masters in Rome, Georgia.
The tournament's No. 5 seed beat UT Rio Grande Valley's Santiago Serrano Huidobro 6-3, 6-1, keeping all six victories in his streak in straight sets, according to Cornell Athletics.
Two more wins would secure NCAA singles berth
Senthil Kumar is scheduled to face Boise State's Arsene Pougault at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 6, in the tournament hosted by Shorter University.
Pougault also lost only four games in his opener, defeating Tulsa's Victor Tosetto 6-4, 6-0.
Senthil Kumar needs two more victories to secure Cornell's second singles berth at the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. The championships run Nov. 17-22 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia.
He has already qualified for the doubles championship with junior Rushil Khosla.
Papoe moves to consolation draw in Virginia
Cornell freshman Cezar Papoe lost his opening match at the separate ITA East Sectional Championship in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Papoe, ranked No. 100 by the ITA, fell 6-3, 7-5 to Virginia's Jangjun Kim, the event's No. 2 seed and the nation's No. 33 player.
Papoe is scheduled to play NC State's William Manning in the consolation bracket at noon Friday. The University of Virginia is hosting that tournament.
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