ANNVILLE, Pa. (Sept. 21, 2021) – After an opening weekend of his career that was about as good as one could ask for, first-year Vivek Harinarayan of the Stevens Institute of Technology men's tennis program was rewarded for his efforts, being named the MAC Freedom Men's Tennis Player of the Week.

Harinarayan made his collegiate debut in the Middle Atlantic Conference Individual Championships over the weekend and took home the title at No. 1 singles, winning every matchup in straight sets.

"Vivek stepped up in a big way this weekend to compete for the first singles flight championship," head coach Steve Gachko said. "Leading up to this event, Vivek proved he could compete at a high level, and I'm proud of his composure and maturity he displays on court as a first-year player." 

On the first day of competition, Harinarayan started the day perfect with a 4-0, 4-0 victory over Arpit Gainder of Albright College before earning a hard-fought 4-3 (7-1), 4-1 win over Tej Laliwala of York College to advance to Sunday's semifinal.

In the semis, Harinarayan made quick work of 2021 Second Team All-MAC Freedom selection Augie Citrone of DeSales University with a 6-3, 6-0 victory to move on to the Championship bout.

Going up against another all-conference performer from a year ago, this time in First Team All-MAC Freedom honoree Cole Gibson from Wilkes University, Harinarayan again had the upper hand with a 6-3, 6-4 straight sets victory to take home the MAC Individual Title.

In total, Harinaryan won one of 10 total championships on the weekend for the Ducks.

Up Next: Stevens will now face off against The College of New Jersey in the Lions/Ducks Invitational this Saturday and Sunday. There will be two matches over the weekend with both occurring on campus at TCNJ.