IS: Infinite Stratos

[Ryllharu]

I can only assume that dodging like he did was beyond the skills of normal IS pilots.

I don't think you have to assume. He and Cecilia were the only(?) two freshmen in their class who defeated an instructor. Cecilia because she has a Fitted IS and is very skilled at long range combat with a variety of tricks up her sleeve (that Ichika was able to see through), and Ichika because he dodged the instructor's attack and she crashed into a wall.

Dodging is a skill he's apparently quite good at.

[David75]

Regarding the match outcome:
It's a technical loss, yes, but one he couldn't have known regarding his rookie status.
And it is not satisfactory for Cecilia either. From her perspective, there's no way she wasn't able to defeat him easilly and it's a loss to her she won like that. Moreover, she was mere shield points away from a huge slash that would have had her to lose.

Then, she starts geting feelings for him because he's so strong (or so it seems), so the typical harem shounen is back on track

[Buffalobiian]

I don't think you have to assume. He and Cecilia were the only(?) two freshmen in their class who defeated an instructor. Cecilia because she has a Fitted IS and is very skilled at long range combat with a variety of tricks up her sleeve (that Ichika was able to see through), and Ichika because he dodged the instructor's attack and she crashed into a wall.

Dodging is a skill he's apparently quite good at.

I'm not so sure Cecilia would have used a Fitted IS in an entrance exam when everyone else had a training one.