Kaya Gore '22 and graduate student Charlie Morkel are the first Stags ever to compete at the national tournament.
Kaya Gore '22 and graduate student Charlie Morkel will represent ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ University Men's Tennis at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gore and Morkel will compete in the pre-qualifying singles draw beginning on Oct. 2.
Both Stags will enter a draw of 256 student-athletes selected based upon their preseason national rankings. That field ultimately narrows to the top 64 players in Division I tennis, who will compete for the ITA All-American Championship from Oct. 6-10 in Tulsa.
Gore and Morkel will be the first Stags to compete at the ITA All-American Championships.
"It's a great step for the men's tennis program to go the All-American Championships," said Head Coach Jeff Bricker. "It shows the progress we've made over the last three years, and hopefully is the first step as we work to put ¼â½ÐÊÓƵ Tennis in the national conversation. I'm really excited that Kaya and Charlie are getting this opportunity to compete at the national level."
Gore is the reigning MAAC Player of the Year, after posting a 5-0 record at #1 singles and 4-1 in #1 doubles (with Stathis Tsiranidis M'21) during the spring of 2021. He was named to the All-MAAC First Team in both singles and doubles play.
Morkel is graduate transfer from UNC Asheville and earned All-Big South First Team laurels as a singles competitor for the Bulldogs last spring. He was also a Second Team All-Big South performer in 2019 and a two-time Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
