Singles play in the qualifying draw of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regionals kicked off Thursday at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Sophomore Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) made a statement right out of the gate with a straight set win over the ninth-seeded singles player in the tournament. Emhardt defeated Notre Dame's Drew Dawson 6-3, 6-2. Emhardt's hot hand continued in the second round as the righty downed Northern Illinois' Kevin Daun, 6-1, 6-3. With the pair of wins, Emhardt advances to the Round of 16 where he'll face Marquette's Gleb Sklyr Friday morning at 8:00 am ET/7:00 am CT. A victory would boost the Crusader into the main draw, beginning at 1:00 pm ET/12:00 pm CT.

Junior Michael Savaglio (Kenosha, Wis./Mary D. Bradford) and sophomore Kyle Dunn (Fond du Lac, Wis./Fond du Lac) also represented Valparaiso in the qualifying draw.

Savaglio fell 6-1, 6-1 to Notre Dame's Billy Pecor in the first round. In the consolation bracket, Savaglio took Wisconsin's Jose Maria Martin De Olivia Carrazna to three sets before dropping a 6-3, 4-6, 10-5 decision.

Western Michigan's Matt Hamilton rallied back to defeat Dunn 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3 in their first round match. The eighth-seeded Carlos Manzanas of NIU got past Dunn in their consolation match, 6-1, 6-3.

Check back with Valpoathletics.com tomorrow for all the results from Day 2 of the ITA Midwest Regionals in Ann Arbor.