NEC Player of the Month
Pukse, the reigning NEC Player of the Year, became the first Knight since 2014 to advance to the round of 32 at the ITA Championships held at Penn last month. He scored a 6-4, 6-2 win over St. Francis Brooklyn's Jan Godfrey Seno, then ousted Penn's Jason Hildebrandt, when he was forced to retire with Pukse up 6-4, 0-1 in the second set. The Riga, Latvia native then battled Princeton star Justin Barki, before succumbing, 6-2, 6-4. He also teamed with Niclas Pietch to reach the round of 16 in doubles, posting a 4-1 record in the process.