University of North Carolina Athletics
Thursday, November 5
Charlottesville, Va.
North Carolina
vs
ITA East Sectionals
Niels Ratiu & Chris Xu
November 7, 2026 | Men's Tennis
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.—North Carolina's Niels Ratiu and Chris Xu advanced to the doubles final of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association East Sectional on Saturday, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Doubles Championship for the second consecutive year.
Ratiu and Xu, ranked No. 32 nationally in the ITA fall doubles rankings, went 3-0 over the weekend in Charlottesville. The pair beat Brown's Ivan Sodan and Robert Yang, 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-5) on Saturday to clinch the trip to Athens, Ga., for the NCAA Championship later this month.
The sectional final will not be played since both finalist teams earn NCAA trips, along with the third-place duo.
The NCAA Doubles Championship will be held November 17-22 on the campus of the University of Georgia.
Thursday November 5
Singles
Chris Xu def. Ty Switzer (Virginia) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Ian Mayew def. Mitchell Lee (Harvard) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Doubles
Lucas Kimelman/Tej Bhagra (Brown) def. Ian Mayew/Kase Schinnerer 7-6 (1), 7-6 (8)
No. 32 Chris Xu/Niels Ratiu def. Roy Horovitz/Stefan Regalia (Virginia) 7-6 (2), 6-3
Friday November 6
Singles
No. 90 Yannick Theodor Alexandrescou (Duke) def. Chris Xu 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
Adam Bain (Pennsylvania) def. Ian Mayew 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
No. 32 Chris Xu/Niels Ratiu def. Aaron Sandler/Justin Chung (Pennsylvania), 7-6 (8), 6-1
Saturday November 7
Doubles
No. 32 Chris Xu/Niels Ratiu def. Ivan Sodan/Robert Yang (Brown) 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (5)
Ratiu and Xu, ranked No. 32 nationally in the ITA fall doubles rankings, went 3-0 over the weekend in Charlottesville. The pair beat Brown's Ivan Sodan and Robert Yang, 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-5) on Saturday to clinch the trip to Athens, Ga., for the NCAA Championship later this month.
The sectional final will not be played since both finalist teams earn NCAA trips, along with the third-place duo.
The NCAA Doubles Championship will be held November 17-22 on the campus of the University of Georgia.
NCAA trip earned ✅ Niels & Chris win in a third-set tiebreak for a second NCAA berth in a row. #GoHeels https://t.co/TqQySzagYt
— Carolina Men's Tennis 🐏🎾 (@carolinatennis) November 7, 2026
UNC's 2026 ITA East Sectional Results (Charlottesville, Va.)
Thursday November 5
Singles
Chris Xu def. Ty Switzer (Virginia) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Ian Mayew def. Mitchell Lee (Harvard) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Doubles
Lucas Kimelman/Tej Bhagra (Brown) def. Ian Mayew/Kase Schinnerer 7-6 (1), 7-6 (8)
No. 32 Chris Xu/Niels Ratiu def. Roy Horovitz/Stefan Regalia (Virginia) 7-6 (2), 6-3
Friday November 6
Singles
No. 90 Yannick Theodor Alexandrescou (Duke) def. Chris Xu 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
Adam Bain (Pennsylvania) def. Ian Mayew 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
No. 32 Chris Xu/Niels Ratiu def. Aaron Sandler/Justin Chung (Pennsylvania), 7-6 (8), 6-1
Saturday November 7
Doubles
No. 32 Chris Xu/Niels Ratiu def. Ivan Sodan/Robert Yang (Brown) 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (5)
Players Mentioned
Sunday, November 08
Sunday, November 08
Sunday, November 08
Saturday, November 07