BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Senior Josh Girling swept to four straight
victories to capture the second flight championship while freshman
John Taylor rebounded from a first round loss to post three
straight victories and win the fourth flight backdraw.
Those were the highlights of a successful weekend showing for the
Tennessee Tech men's tennis team at the Indiana University
Invitational.
Overall, coach Kenny Doyle's five players combined for an 11-12
won-lost record in the event, which included players from Indiana,
Butler, Cleveland State, IUPUI, Detroit mercy, IPFW, Toledo and
Xavier.
Girling, who made it to the finals of the UNC Greensboro
Invitational last weekend, continued his success as he swept all
four of his singles bouts in straight sets, including a 6-3, 6-1
win over Sarria of Toledo to open play Friday. He came back to beat
Canelas of Xavier, 6-4, 6-1 and then defeated Cheung of Detroit
Mercey, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the finals.
On Sunday, Girling disposed of Andrew Bayliss from Butler, 6-1,
6-3, to seal the title in the finals, giving him a 7-1 singles
record this season.
Teamed with partner James Crawford, Girling also gained some matches in doubles this weekend. The duo won their first two rounds of doubles on Friday, then fell to the team of Bobby Deye and Brian Starr from Xavier University.
Taylor lost his first round of singles on Friday but rebounded
strong with three straight set wins to capture the title of
the backdraw. He dropped a 6-2, 6-4 match to Petoris of Xavier,
then began his winning streak with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Saltys of
IPFW. He followed with a 6-4. 6-2 win over Cleveland State's Jones
and finished with a 6-1, 6-0 sweep against Kanavos of IPFW.
Taylor and playing partner Joseph Proctor dropped two doubles
contests to teams from Toledo and Xavier before rebounding for an
8-5 win over a twosome from Detroit Mercy. They finished the
weekend 1-3.
Proctor lost his first round of singles in the third flight, but
captured a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Butts from Detroit Mercy. He
dropped a 6-3, 6-4 battle to Joel Modesitt from IUPUI in the
next round and finshed 1-2.
In Flight 1 singles, Alex Chen fell once and then retired due to sickness, and in Flight 2 singles James Crawford had two losses.
Next up for the Golden Eagles is the UTC Fall Classic, Oct. 1-3.
