TEANECK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson tennis program and head coach Jeff Brandes revealed the incoming class of 2024 on Friday, with the Knights adding three players to the men's squad and one player to the women's team.

The women's team welcomes incoming freshman Gauri Bhagia for the start of the upcoming 2020-21 season, while the men's additions for next year include Arjun Sriram, Aryan Manchanda and Younes Adnane. Bhagia, Sriram and Adnane all signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Knights.
 

Gauri Bhagia arrives to Teaneck from Mumbai India, where she trained at the Altevol-Alexander Waske Tennis Academy and attended the Bombay Scottish School. In 2018, Bhagia was a semi-finalist in singles at the ITF Juniors Grade-4 Circuit Junior Ouest Africain Des 18 Ans et Moins held in Benin, defeating top-seed Linda Claire Eloundou Nga of Cameroon on her way to the semi-finals.  Bhagia was also a runner-up in the girls' doubles final of that tournament.  In her junior doubles career, Bhagia has advanced to 14 quarter-finals, 11 semi-finals and 3 finals of which she won two of those doubles tournaments. 
  
Bhagia also made the semi-finals in singles at the 2018 G4 and G5 Circuit Junior Ouest Africain Des 18 Ans et Moins tournaments held in Lome, Togo.  Bhagia advanced to the quarter-finals at the 2018 Singapore ITF Junior Championships and the semi-finals at the 2017 Singapore ITF Junior Championships.  Most recently in 2019, the Mumbai native was a quarterfinalist at the J4 tournament in Harare, Zimbabwe, and was a semi-finalist at the J4 Cotonou tournament in Benin. Bhagia has achieved an ITF high rank of 508, and she is interested in studying finance at FDU.   

"I believe Gauri will fit in perfectly with our current roster and will be a great addition to our team," said Coach Brandes.
  
Fairleigh Dickinson assistant coach Paul Caceres said, "Gauri's commitment to work hard and be a team player is in line with the philosophy of our program.  We are excited to see Gauri develop as a Knight at FDU." 
 

Arjun Sriram hails from Bangalore, India, and attended Chrysalis High School in Bengaluru, India. In singles, Sriram reached the quarterfinals of the ITF U18 Petit Camp Open in 2017.  He was also a semi-finalist in both the 2017 ITF U18 Mauritius Open and the 2018 ITA Jr Circuit in Sri Lanka.  More recently in 2019, Sriram advanced the quarterfinals of the J5 tournament in Madurai and the quarterfinals of the J2 qualifier in New Delhi.

In doubles play, Sriram has made three quarterfinal appearances, was a semi-finalist twice, and advanced to the finals of three doubles tournaments in the junior circuit. Sriram is interested in studying accounting at FDU and has achieved an ITF high rank of 848.      
     
"Being a lefty will give Arjun a distinct advantage as he continues to hone his skills, said Coach Brandes.  "I am happy and excited to have Arjun on our roster and believe he will be an excellent addition to our team." 

Coach Caceres added, "Arjun is a fierce competitor. I look forward to see him battling on the tennis court as a Knight." 
 
         
Aryan Manchanda is originally from Delhi, India; however, he has attended the American International School of Mallorca Spain while training at the Rafael Nadal Academy. Manchanda was a main draw participant in singles at the 2018 YMCA TTT- ITF Juniors in Chennai after winning three qualifying rounds. He has also played tournaments in Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, the United States and India, with the tournaments ranging from Grade 3 to 5.

In doubles, Manchanda was a main draw participant in the 2019 J5 tournament in Dehradun. Manchanda is interested in studying accounting at FDU.
  
"Aryan's strong desire to improve coupled with his passion for the game are valuable assets for our program," said Brandes.
  
"We are excited about Aryan's enthusiasm and commitment to get better each day", said Caceres.  "He understands the importance of hard work and dedication to achieve his goals on the court and in the classroom."    
 

Younes Adnane is from Agadir, Morocco and attended the French International School of Agadir. In 2019, Agnane was a quarterfinalist at the Grade B2 tournament in Marrakech, a semi-finalist at the J4 Algiers in Algeria, a finalist of the Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech Grade 1 Tournament, and winner of the DHJTC Grade 2 tournament in El Jadida. In 2015, Adnane won the OUATT International tournament in La Baule, France.
  
Younes had a successful string of finishes in 2018. He competed at the Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Budapest, and he also was a semi-finalist at the RUC Tennis Junior Open in Morocco and was the winner of the ITF Junior Alger Mehdi Bouras G4 tournament.  At the African Junior Team Championships (AJTC) in Tunisia, Adnane led his Junior Davis Cup team to a first-place finish with a team-best four individual singles wins, two doubles wins and no losses.  He was also the winner of the ITF/CAT Individual African Junior Championships U16 in April of that year. 

In doubles, Agnane was a finalist at the ITF Juniors Gran Canaria Yellow Bowl in Spain in 2016 and a quarterfinalist in 2018.  In 2017, he reached the doubles quarterfinals of the Raquette D'Or tournament, and he was a doubles quarter-finalist at the ITF/CAT African Junior Championships U18 in both 2018 and 2019.  He also made the semifinals in the 2018 G4 tournament in Carthage Tunisia, the finals at the 2018 Riad 21 in Rabat and a quarterfinalist and finalist in doubles at the 2019 J4 and J5 tournaments, respectively, in Algiers.  In addition, Adnane was a doubles quarterfinalist at the J5 tournament in Meknes and a doubles semi-finalist at the 2019 Men's ITF M15 in Agadir.  
 
Adnane has achieved an ITF junior singles ranking as high as 320, and he is interested in studying finance at FDU. 

"Younes is an athletically gifted player who I believe will have an immediate impact on our program," said Coach Brandes.  "We are very pleased to have Younes be a Knight."

"We are fortunate to have Younes join our program in the fall," said Coach Caceres.  "I am looking forward to Younes becoming part of the Knight family and making a successful impact on our program here at FDU's Metro Campus."