ORLANDO, Fla. — Hamilton College sophomore Connor Girff starts his quest for an NCAA Division III Men's Tennis singles title at 9 a.m. Thursday at the U.S. Tennis Association National Campus.

Griff will take on the championship's No. 7 seed from Swarthmore College, Michael Melnikov, in the round of 32. The winner will play either Johns Hopkins University's Thomas Yu or the University of Chicago's Derek Hsieh in the round of 16 at 1 p.m. on Thursday.

Griff has a record of 19-7, including 7-3 against NESCAC opponents, in singles play this season. He's ranked sixth in Region 1 by the NCAA and is 14th in the Northeast Region in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. He's the first Hamilton men's tennis player in the national championships in at least 20 years.

Melnikov has won 22 of his 23 singles matches with his lone loss coming against Yu back in the fall. The first-year from Germany is ranked first in Region 3 by the NCAA and is first in the Atlantic South Region in the ITA rankings.