By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Golden Eagle tennis sophomore Marc Mila capped a strong showing at the Louisville Fall Invitational with a perfect Sunday, claiming two consolation titles.
The reigning Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year took down Butler's Ari Gerstein in the B Consolation Draw Championship, ousting the Bulldog in straight sets. Both were dog fights, but the Tech youngster rose to the challenge, posting back-to-back 7-5 wins for the two-set victory and consolation bracket title.
Also on Sunday, Mila paired up with junior teammate Wenceslao Albin in two doubles match-ups against Ball State. In the semifinals of the B Doubles Consolation Draw, Mila and Albin edged the Cardinals' Marko Guzina and Conner Andersen to advance to the championship round. There they met another BSU duo, Bryce Bonin and Chris Adams. The Golden Eagle team soared to a quick victory, claiming the consolation bracket title with a 6-0 victory.
Next on tap for the Tennessee Tech tennis team is an appearance at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships Presented by Oracle in Knoxville, Tenn. on the campus of the University of Tennessee from Thursday, Oct. 19 through Monday, Oct. 23.
SATURDAY RECAP
Tennessee Tech men's tennis players Jorge Alfonzo and Wenceslao Albin both found more success at the Louisville Fall Invitational Saturday before ultimately falling in the semifinals of their respective brackets.
Competing in the A SIngles Main Draw, Alfonzo put together an impressive, three-set effort against Gus Benson of Kentucky. After winning the first set 7-5, Alfonzo fell to the UK product 6-3 in the second to force the most grueling part of the tournament for Tech senior. Alfonzo triumphed, however, edging the Wildcat 7-6 to advance to the semifinals. He fought tooth-and-nail in yet another three-set match, his third in four games over the weekend, eventually falling to Louisville's Ciro Lampasas 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Albin, conducitng battle in the B Singles Main Draw, made quick work of DePaul's Fran Tonejc to advance to the semifinals, besting the Blue Demo 6-2, 6-2 in straight sets. Like his teammate, the Golden Eagle would also fall victim to a three-set war against a Louisville competitor. The Cardinals' Federico Gomez ousted Albin in the semfinal match-up 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, ending the Tech junior's strong run.
On the B Consolation Draw side, Tech's Marc Mila found more success defeating Xavier's Gabe Araujo 6-4, 7-5 to advance to the semfinals for a match-up with Butler's Adrian Mag. The reigning Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year made the contest count, eliminating the Bulldog in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Mila will take on Ari Gerstein, also of Butler, in the B Consolation Championship on Sunday.
On the doubles side of the event, the combo of Alfonzo and Arthur Justo fell at the hands of Middle Tennessee's Mason Dragos and Michael Dickson, 8-2, in the second round of the A Doubles Draw.
The Tech duo of Mila and Albin advanced to the semfiinals of the B Doubles Consolation Draw, taking down the DePaul team of Alex Galoustian and Conor O'Meara, 6-4 in an abbreviated match. The two will face off with Ball State's combo of Marko Guzina and Conner Andersen on Sunday.
FRIDAY RECAP
Five members of the Tennessee Tech tennis team kicked off action in the Louisville Fall Invitational Friday, with senior Jorge Alfonzo and junior Wenceslao Albin showing off the most for the Golden Eagles.
Taking part in the A Singles Main Draw, Alfonzo defeated Toledo's Luka Vitosevic in the first round, rallying from a loss in the opening set to win a thriller, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. He followed that up with another grueling, albeit two-set, win over Nemanja Guzina of Ball State. Alfonzo defeated the Cardinals' junior 7-5, 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals to face off against Kentucky's Gus Benson.
Albin won back-to-back matches in the B Singles Main Draw, defeating Butler's Adrian Mag in the first round, 7-5, 6-4. He then ousted Reid Teatsorth of Toledo, moving on to the quarterfinals of his bracket. He fought tooth-and-nail to earn the 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory and set up a match-up with DePaul's Fran Tonejc.
Also participating in the A Singles Main Draw, freshman Arthur Justo fell in the first round to Butler's Aviv Ben Shabat, 6-3, 6-3. Moving on to the A Consolation Draw, Xavier's Jan Vrba defeated Justo 0-6, 6-3, 10-4 in a tie break.
Gonzalo Garcia fell victim to DePaul's Boris Spanjaard in the opening round of the A Singles Main Draw, 6-3, 6-2. The Tech freshman then lost in the A Consolation Draw to Matthew Terry of Cleveland State, 6-3, 6-4.
Reigning OVC Freshman of the Year, Marc Mila fell to Butler's Lope Adelakun in the first round of the B Singles Main Draw, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. Mila lived to fight another day, however, defeat Luuk Wassennar of DePaul in the B Consolation Draw, 6-4, 6-4. He is set to face Gabe Araujo of Xavier next.
Alfonzo and Justo teamed up for the A Doubles Draw, advancing to the quarterfinals with an 8-6 victory over Butler's duo of Mason Dragos and Michael Dickson. The two will take on Middle Tennessee's Nicolas Buitrago Machado and Ian Porteset in the quarterfinals.
Mila and Ablin made up Tech's other doubles pairing, competing in the B Doubles Draw. The Tech duo fell in the opening round to the Xavier team of Alejandro Rodriguez-Vidal and Trent Smith. Next up for the Golden Eagle team is a match-up in the B Doubles Consolation Draw against DePaul's Alex Galoustian and Conor O'Meara.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information