CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Day 2 of the singles and doubles brackets at the NCAA Division III Tennis Championships saw the Carleton College men's program entrants advance once again. Leo Vithoontien (Sr./Bangkok, Thailand/Bangkok Patana School) won two more singles matches and earned a berth in the championship final on Sunday. Before the day was done, he and Xander Zuczek (Sr./Westerly, R.I./St. Bernard) secured a spot in the semifinals of the doubles bracket.
 
Vithoontien opened the day with a 6-4, 6-0 triumph over Hayden Cassone, who played No. 1 singles for Emory University, which won the team title at the NCAA Championships earlier in the week. The opening set was tied 4-4 before Vithoontien won the final eight games of the match.
 
Carleton's All-American followed up with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Arturo Kam of Williams College. Vithoontien registered six aces in the match.
 
That triumph allows Vithoontien to return to the finals of the singles bracket. In 2019, he became the first Carleton tennis player—male or female—to compete for the NCAA national singles crown. That year he came up just short in the finals, falling 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to Jonathan Jemison of Emory University.
 
Yesterday, Zuzcek and Vithoontien became the first Carleton men's doubles tandem to earn All-America status since 1985. On Saturday, the Knights duo earned a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Cassone and teammate Antonio Mora. The Carleton duo trailed 2-0 in the opening set but won the next three games. The score was later knotted 5-5 before Carleton won back-to-back games to claim the first set. The Knights raced out to a 4-1 advantage in the second set and took care of business from there.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: The singles and doubles championships will wrap up on Sunday, May 30. VIthoontien faces Boris Sorkin of Tufts University in the final of the singles bracket at 11:00am CT/12:00pm ET. That contest will be followed by a doubles semifinal against Will Leach and Luke Lemaitre of George Fox University. The winner of that match will play the finals slated for some time after 2:00pm CT/3:00pm ET
 
Fans can follow the action via live video and live scoring.
 
Singles Bracket results
Round of 32
Leo Vithoontien (Carleton) def. Kukutla Motlojoa (Southern Virginia University) 6-1, 3-6, 6-0.
Round of 16
Leo Vithoontien (Carleton) def. Issac Gorelick (Tufts University) 6-0, 6-3
Quarterfinals
Leo Vithoontien (Carleton) def. Hayden Cassone (Emory University) 6-4, 6-0
Semifinals
Leo Vithoontien (Carleton) def. Arturo Kam (Williams College) 6-1, 6-4
Finals
Leo Vithoontien (Carleton) vs. Boris Sorkin (Tufts University)
 
Doubles Bracket results
Round of 16 – May 28
Leo Vithoontien/Xander Zuczek (Carleton) def. Boris Sorkin/Josh Belandres (Tufts University) 6-3, 6-4
Quarterfinals – May 29
Leo Vithoontien/Xander Zuczek (Carleton) def. Hayden Cassone/Antonio Mora (Emory University) 7-5, 6-2
Semifinals – May 30
Leo Vithoontien/Xander Zuczek (Carleton) vs. Will Leach/Luke Lemaitre (George Fox University)
Finals – May 30
Vithoontien/Zuczek (CAR) - Leach/Lemaitre (GFU) winner vs. Chen/Tzeng (Brandeis) – Aney/Budde (Gustavus) winner
 
All-Americans in Carleton Men's Tennis History
1984   --   Dave Treichel (doubles)
1984   --   John Flygare (doubles)
1985   --   Dave Treichel (singles)
1985   --   Dave Treichel (doubles)
1985   --   John Flygare (doubles)
1986   --   Dave Treichel (singles)
1987   --   Tom James (singles)
1988   --   Tom James (singles)
1989   --   Tom James (singles)
2018   --   Leo Vithoontien (singles)
2019   --   Leo Vithoontien (singles)
2020   --   Leo Vithoontien (singles)
2021   --   Leo Vithoontien (singles)
2021   --   Leo Vithoontien (doubles)
2021   --   Xander Zuczek (doubles)