ROME, Ga. – Matthew Michibata came up just short in a thrilling match in both singles and doubles as he opened play at the ITA Cup alongside partner Harrison Maitland-Carter on Thursday at the Rome Tennis Center.
 
Michibata lost in three sets in both singles (full set) and doubles (super tiebreaker), a valiant effort that nonetheless resulted in a trip to the consolation bracket in both championships.
 
The sixth-year standout, who did not conceded a single set in winning the Northeast Regional singles title, dropped the first frame by a 6-1 count to Washington and Lee's Evan Erb. The veteran refused to go quietly, pulling out an 8-6 tiebreak nail-biter to take the second set, 7-6, and force a decisive third. The pivotal set was knotted at 5-games apiece before Erb broke Michibata's serve and escaped with a 1-6, 6-7 (6), 7-5 decision.
 
Back a few hours later for the opener of the doubles championship, Michibata and Maitland-Carter split the first two sets with Tufts' Aarush Ganji and Sacha Maes, staving off elimination with a 6-4 win in the second set after conceding the first, 6-3. That sent the match to a 10-point super tiebreaker, and the Jumbo pairing managed to outlast the Lions' pair in an 11-9 marathon.
 
The results sent the Lions' duo into the consolation, where they will take on Raghav Jangbahadur and Daniel Kong of Carnegie Mellon at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Michibata and Maitland-Carter are guaranteed at least two more matches and will finish somewhere between 9^th and 16^th place.
 
In singles, Michibata will open consolation play against George Fox's Eli Mizerski at 11 a.m. Friday.