The Hoosier doubles team of junior Raheel Manji and sophomore Antonio Cembellin will return to the court Wednesday for the main draw of the All American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Manji and Cembellin received an automatic bid after winning the ITA Summer Nationals doubles tournament.
Their win came as a bit of a surprise to assistant coach Mike Murray, who said the pair had not played much together before, although their relationship off the court indicated the pairing could work.
“Doubles is a lot about having the chemistry with your partner and being able to communicate, and they are as close as any guys we have,” Murray said.
Their chemistry on the court didn’t manifest immediately. During last year’s campaign, the two hardly played with each other. However, Manji said Cembellin matured a lot after his freshman year, which helped them take a step forward as a doubles team.
After Cembellin’s growth this offseason, the two tried again at the ITA Summer Nationals and left with a title.
“We balance each other really well, and our unbelievable chemistry is what separates us from other teams,” Manji said of Cembellin.
Cembellin will also be competing in the singles main draw tomorrow. He will not be joined by any of his Hoosier teammates, who were fighting to earn a spot in the main draw last weekend and came up short.
Manji, who was in the qualifier for the main draw, lost to Mississippi State’s Vaughn Hunter in the first round. He bounced back to win his consolation match against Notre Dame’s Eddy Covalschi, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Three Hoosiers — freshman Bennett Crane, junior Keivon Tabrizi and sophomore Afonso Salgado — competed in the pre-qualifier over the weekend. Crane lost his first match, while Salgado lost in the second round.
Tabrizi won his first three matches, but dropped his fourth against Tennessee.
Normally Tabrizi wouldn’t advance to the qualifier, but he was awarded a lucky-loser spot in the qualifier. Here he suffered a defeat, which prevented him from moving on, to Tennessee. He followed up the defeat with a tough, three-set win in the consolation match against Old Dominion.
Cembellin and Manji are IU’s last two in Tulsa this week. They aren’t sure of their draw, but the two should be confident after an 8-0 championship victory this summer against a top-ranked Duke doubles team.
