SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- The Oneonta men's tennis team kicked off the 2026-27 season as a few members went up to Skidmore College to compete at the ITA Northeast Regional Championships this weekend. Senior Chris Chippari (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) came away with a victory in singles play, as he and juniors Jaden Ritterman (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains), Ryan Geller (Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y./Cornwall), and Peter Pitaleff (Garrison, N.Y./Highland Falls Fort Montgomery) traveled to represent the Red Dragons in the tournament. 

"For the second year in a row, our men's team went into ITAs and posted some strong results," Head Coach Brian Roser exclaimed. "We kicked off the day with main draw doubles against a very solid Hamilton squad."

Chippari received his singles win in the opening match against Hamilton's Alexei Katelevsky. The first set was a battle between the two where they both traded games with one another. With a 6-5 lead, Chippari held off Katelevsky from forcing a set tiebreaker and won the first set, 7-5. The Red Dragon started the second set by winning the first game, before Katelevsky had to forfeit due to injury, allowing Chippari to win the match 7-5, 1-0.

"In the main singles draw, Chippari secured another huge ITA win, making it back-to-back years he advanced past the first round," said Coach Roser. "He earned a hard-fought victory over a tough opponent from Hamilton, a program always stacked with talent in the NESCAC. After a long day stretched into his fourth match, Chippari battled hard against a top seed from Vassar, though ultimately fell short."

In the next round, Chippari came up short to Vassar's Shrey Choudhary in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. 

Ritterman competed in the Main Draw and took on Ithaca's Ivan Kisic. The Oneonta junior competed with the Bomber in the first set, however Kisic earned the first set then gained the second for a 6-3, 6-1 match.

Pitaleff faced RIT's Adib Hazzan in the B Draw. Hazzan took the match in straight sets over Pitaleff, 6-0, 6-1.

In the main doubles draw, Chippari and Ritterman faced Hamilton's Charles Sternberg and Martin Dimitrov. The match was tightly contested as both teams earned games on their respective serves. The Red Dragons were only trailing 6-5 until the Continentals took the two final games for an 8-5 final.

"It was Chris Chippari (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) and Jaden Ritterman's (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) first competitive match as a doubles pairing – never and easy task – and they hung in there exceptionally well, keeping it on serve until 6-5 before Hamilton broke through for the 8-5 decision," Coach Roser continued. "That same Hamilton duo went on to defeat the #1 seed and nationally ranked team from RIT in the next round, so I'm extremely proud of how our guys competed against such a talented team."

In the B Draw, Geller and Pitaleff went up against TCNJ's Logan Knasiak and Mateus de Vasconcellos. The Red Dragon duo secured a few games to keep it close against the Lions, but Knasiak and de Vasconcellos came away with the match, 8-4.

"I'm also really pleased with Geller and Pitaleff, who faced fierce competition in the B Draw," Coach Roser commented. "Getting these high-quality matches under our belts is a great foundation as we start the season."

Coach Roser concluded, "We're looking forward to having the whole team back in action next weekend at Union for the Garnet Cup!"

The Red Dragons head to Union on Saturday, October 3, for the Garnet Cup. Oneonta will compete against Manhattanville at 10 am, then depending on the result, the team will face either Union or Farmingdale at 2 pm.