Tennis Recruiting Network Release

BABSON PARK, Mass.—The Babson College men's tennis program boasts the eighth-ranked incoming recruiting class in Division III according to the Tennis Recruiting Network (TRN), which announced its annual ranking earlier this week.

Babson head men's tennis coach Michael Kopelman has recruiting seven consecutive top-25 classes since taking over prior to the 2018-19 campaign. This year's group marks the third time the Beavers have enrolled a top-10 class to go along with the fourth-ranked class in 2023 and the ninth-ranked class in 2021. 

Joining Kopelman and associate head coach Alan Dubrovsky's squad in the fall is a seven man group that includes a trio of four-star recruits and five players that have been ranked among the top 200 in the TRN over the last six months. 

Venkat Rishi Batlanki of India owns the top TRN ranking of the group (119) and has a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) of 10.80, while Sourish Gadhi of Morganville, N.J., is the eighth-ranked player in the state and ranked 132nd by TRN. Ronit Gupta of India has a 10.32 UTR, Max Lidman of Sweden owns an 11.11 UTR and Dylan O'Connell-DeCerchio of Santa Monica, Calif., is a three-star player ranked No. 195 by TRN. 

Felipe Ramirez of Spring, Texas, and Maxim Zlobinsky of Greenvale, N.Y., are both four-star prospects. Ramirez is ranked 165th by TRN, while Zlobinsky comes in at No. 193 to go along with a 10.63 UTR. 

"These seven young men are very committed and passionate," commented Kopelman. "I know they have the potential to keep pushing our program to new heights. I am extremely excited to start working with them all in the fall and for the future of Babson tennis."

TRN enlists the help of a number of Division III enthusiasts, coaches and insiders to aid in the rankings. In addition the Star Rating, they also display the highest TRN, UTR, WTN and International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings for each player going back to last August. 

The Beavers are one of two New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) programs in the top-25 along with seventh-ranked MIT. In all there, are nine teams from New England in the top 25. 

Babson is coming off a historic 2024-25 campaign that included NEWMAC regular season and tournament titles, a school record for wins and the program's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. The Beavers defeated Stevens and Bowdoin in their first two NCAA matches before suffering a 4-1 loss to No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to conclude the season at 22-3.