(l-r) Ben Shapiro, assistant coach; Sebastian Castillo-Sanchez ’20; Zack Ebenfeld ’20; and Jon Satkowski, head coach.
The freshman duo of Sebastian Castillo-Sanchez and Zack Ebenfeld recently captured the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional Doubles Tournament and made history at Rensselaer in the process. Not only are they the first two to win an ITA Regional; they also become the first National All-Americas in the program’s history.
Castillo-Sanchez and Ebenfeld defeated Stevens Institute of Technology twosome Danny Polk and Michael Feldman, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, to win the title. They jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, fell behind 5-2 in the second, and then went ahead 3-0 in the third set. Castillo-Sanchez and Ebenfeld broke their opponents three times in the final set for the victory.
They started the three-day tournament by beating a duo from Stevens in the first round, 8-2, before taking down a pair from the University of Rochester, 8-4. They then beat a twosome from Ithaca College, 8-3, in the quarterfinals, and Kyle Henry and Kyle Cenderelli of Stevens, 8-6, in the semis.
Castillo-Sanchez and Ebenfeld advance to the ITA Oracle Cup (formerly ITA National Small College Championships) on October 13-16 in Surprise, Arizona.
Castillo-Sanchez also advanced to the semifinals of the singles tournament, but lost to the eventual champion, Kai Yuen Leung of Skidmore College, 6-4, 6-3.