SUMTER, S.C. — Vladyslav Ladygin competed in the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships over the weekend and finished in sixth place.

Ladygin qualified for the Small College Championships three weeks ago by winning the ITA Regional Qualifier in Georgetown, Ky.

ITA Bracket

The sophomore from Kiev, Ukraine, was matched up with two-seed Jordan Cox from Georgia Gwinnett in the first round on Thursday but fell 6-0, 6-0.

Ladygin moved into the consolation bracket and pulled an upset over three-seed Daniel Rueda of Northwestern Ohio. Ladygin and Rueda both split the first two games (6-0, 6-7) but Ladygin pulled out the tiebreaker 7-6 to move on in the bracket.

Rueda is familiar with the ITA National Championships qualifying two previous years and finishing in the Top 4.

The fifth place match was set – Ladygin vs. Spartak Rahachou from Baker University.  Both battled throughout but Rahachou prevailed with a 6-0, 7-6 win.

"We are very proud of Vlad and everything he has accomplished," said CU coach Kyle Caven. "We are in a tough region and to be able to come out of that and compete in the Small College Championships is a huge success.

"The win in round number two was huge because Rueda is an established player at Northwestern Ohio. In the third match, Vlad made a good run in the second set against Rahachou from Baker but the intensity and energy hurt him. This was an excellent experience for Vlad and it opened his eyes because it showed the level of competition the NAIA and junior college levels have. This will help us round out where we see his game progressing. It's a huge honor to get there but also win a match over a top seeded player. This experience will propel Vlad forward in the spring with a boost of confidence."