Bakshi, Calvo Ready for NCAA Singles Championships

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Juniors Alex Bakshi and Ferran Calvo are set to open the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships Wednesday.

Bakshi, an at-large bid for the tournament, will face UNLV's Alexandr Cozbinov at 11:30 a.m. CT. Calvo, who was selected as an alternate, takes on Arkansas' Jose Salazar at 11 a.m. CT. Wednesday will mark the first NCAA singles appearance for both Sooners and OU's ninth consecutive season with at least one entry in the individual championships.

Bakshi compiled a 15-3 record in dual matches, including a 6-3 mark against ranked opponents. The junior played primarily at the No. 1 line, and concluded Big 12 Conference action with a perfect, 4-0 record at the top spot, with all of those wins over ranked opponents.

A transfer from Texas A&M, Bakshi's signature win came during the Sooners' upset of then-No. 5 Aggies at the USTA National Campus. As the No. 108 player in the country Bakshi handled No. 43 Patrick Kypson, 6-3, 6-3, at the top spot to guide the Sooners to victory.

The Tblisi, Georgia, native was tabbed the Big 12 Player of the Year as well as Newcomer of the Year, and garnered All-Big 12 Singles First Team honors. Bakshi was also recently named ITA Central Region Player to Watch, the award given to a nationally or regionally ranked player who is anticipated to be one of the top returning regional players the following year.

UNLV's Cozbinov led the Rebels with a 16-5 record at the top spot with a 5-2 mark in Mountain West play. Tabbed No. 96 in the latest ITA release, Cozbinov earned an automatic bid to the tournament as the highest-ranked player in the Mountain West Conference. His NCAA appearance is the first by a UNLV player since 2011.

Cozbinov owns a 1-0 record against ranked opponents this season, with that win coming against then-No. 1 Martin Redlicki of UCLA. Then unranked, Corbinov prevailed in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Calvo enters the tournament at 9-5 on the season and tabbed No. 64 in the ITA rankings. A native of Valencia, Spain, Calvo played at the one, two, three and four spots and went undefeated (3-0) in conference matches.

Calvo joined the roster as a transfer, coming from Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. Calvo is no stranger to national championships, as he brought home back-to-back NJCAA singles titles in 2016 and 2017, in addition to the 2017 doubles championship and a runner-up finish at the 2017 NJCAA team championships.

The junior kicked off his career at OU with a remarkable 17-0 run during tournament play, culminating the fall season with a bid to the Oracle/ITA National Fall Championships and a 22-4 record.

For Arkansas, Salazar led the Razorbacks from the No. 1 line, where he finished the year at 18-6. Salazar closed out the season on a four-match winning streak and is 9-1 in his last 10 matches, good for a ranking of 18 in the ITA release. The senior garnered first-team SEC honors after finishing league play at 8-4 on the year, with statement wins over then-No. 8 Alfredo Perez of Florida and Mississippi State's No. 4 Nuno Borges.

Calvo kicks off tournament action at 11 a.m. CT. Bakshi will follow at 11:30 a.m. CT. Live stats will be available for both matches, and can be found here.

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