SUNDAY 11/11 RECAP
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team put together a strong finish in the Wake Forest Invitational, as four different Golden Eagles collected singles wins in the event's final day, while a quartet of Tech players also soared to victories in doubles action.
Sophomore Gonzalo Garcia highlighted TTU's singles showing behind a consolation championship, while Wenceslao Albin and Marc Mila capped off their impressive runs with a pair of third-place finishes. Mila and Garcia also teamed up to win a consolation title in doubles play, knocking off Liberty's William Barker and Vince Salas, 6-4.
Playing for a doubles title in the A1 Bracket, Wenceslao Albin and Elias Grubert fell 6-1 to Virginia's Gianni Ross and William Woodall in the championship clash. Fanis Kontopoulos and Carlos Vicente rounded out Tech's strong showing in doubles play with a third-place finish in the B3 Bracket behind a 6-4 victory over Mercer's Carver Arant and John Wharton in the third-place match.
Gonzalo Garcia captured a singles consolation title in the C1 Bracket over Harvard's Michael Peters, rallying to capture the final set 6-2 after the pair each traded 6-2 nods over the first two sets.
Wenceslao Albin claimed a third-place ending in the B1 Bracket with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 win over Alvaro Acre out of James Madison. Marc Mila mirrored Albin's third-place finish with one of his own, courtesy of a win against Pat Hannity of Wake Forest.
Fanis Kontopolous checked the win column in the A2 Bracket, knocking off Paul Mendoza out of James Madison in the 13th-place match.
Elias Grubert ended his singles run with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Indiana's Andrew Redding. A similar fate also struck Carlos Vicente, Lucca Silva and Caio Reuter, as Vicente was tripped up 6-4, 6-3 by David Georgadze, while Silva dropped a 6-4, 6-3 decision to Richmond's Matt Fernandez in the fifth-place match of the C2 Bracket, and Rueter fell to Virginia's Ethan Moszkowski in the D1 Bracket.
SATURDAY 11/10 RECAP
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Doubles play proved to be a strong source for the Tennessee Tech tennis team, while sophomore Gonzalo Garcia helped carry the way during singles action in the second day of the Wake Forest Invitational.
The TTU tandem of Wenceslao Albin and Elias Grubert won for the second-consecutive day to move into the finals of the A2 Doubles Bracket. The Golden Eagle pair topped Duke's duo of Nick Stachowiak and Sean Sculley 6-3 in Saturday's semifinals. Albin and Grubert will take aim against another ACC foe in the form of Virginia's Gianni Ross and William Woodall in Sunday's final.
Marc Mila and Gonzalo Garcia will appear in Sunday's doubles consolation final after receiving a bye in the semis. The Golden Eagle duo will meet Liberty's William Barker and Vince Salas in Sunday's championship.
The final Tech tandem of Fanis Kontopoulos and Carlos Vicente will be playing for third place in the B3 Doubles Bracket after falling 7-6 (3) to Wofford's Edu Villar and Kyle Barr. Kontopoulos and Vicente, who won their first-round matchup, will square off with Mercer's Carver Arant and John Wharton in Sunday's third-place clash.
As far as singles play is concerned, Gonzalo Garcia proved to be one of the Golden Eagle highlights with back-to-back wins to set himself up in the consolations finals of the C1 Singles Bracket. The Barcelona, Spain native first took down Virginia's Spencer Bozsik 6-3, 6-3, before knocking off Wofford's Edu Villar 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. Garcia will greet Harvard's Michael Peters in Sunday's consolation championship.
Wenceslao Albin won in the B1 singles bracket quarterfinals with a straight-set 6-4, 6-2 nod over Virginia's Ammar Alhaqbani to move to the semifinals. The Golden Eagle senior our of Salliquelo, Argentina fell 7-5, 6-4 to South Carolina's Beau Pelletier in the semis, which moves Albin to the third-place match against Alvaro Arce on Sunday.
Marc Mila mirrored Wenceslao Albin's performance with a quarterfinal victory as well behind a 6-3, 6-4 nod over Kennesaw State's Drew Lahey. Mila was then upended 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 by Richmond's John Walsh in the semifinals. Mila will connect with WFU's Pat Hannity in Sunday's third-place match of the DI Singles Bracket.
After winning his first-round match, freshman Elia Grubert was downed 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 by Kentucky's Kento Yamada in the BI Singles Bracket quarterfinals. Carlos Vicente and Lucca Silva had similar fates with quarterfinal defeats, as Vicente was tripped up by Duke's Jason Lapidus 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the B2 Singles Bracket and Silva was upended by Charlotte's Henry Liebrman in the C2 Singles Bracket. Silva would bounce back though with a 6-4, 6-3 win over MU's Guardia to move to the fifth-place match of the bracket on Sunday.
Fanis Kontopoulos and Caio Reuter were also downed during Saturday's singles action. Kontopoulos fell 6-1, 6-3 to Mercer's Oliver Stuart, while Rueter was tripped up by Davidson's Brooks Green.
FRIDAY 11/9 RECAP
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – It's a packed nest of Golden Eagles competing in the Tennessee Tech tennis team's final event of the fall, with eight players in purple and gold taking aim in the Wake Forest Invitational.
Tech displayed a strong showing in Friday's opener, claiming three wins during singles play and a pair of wins during doubles action. Marc Mila and Carlos Vicente also received first-round byes during singles play to advance to the quarterfinals of their respective singles brackets.
Wenceslao Albin, Elias Grubert and Lucca Silva shined during singles play, as the trio each claimed an opening-round win down in Winston-Salem. Albin rolled to a 6-3, 6-0 straight-set nod over Wofford's Omar Williams in his opening clash and will prepare for a battle with Virginia's Ammar Alhaqbani in the quarterfinals of the B1 Singles Bracket.
Grubert secured a three-set victory over Arutro Schmidt out of the University of North Carolina, downing the senior Tar Heel 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. The Golden Eagle rookie will turn his sights to another "Power 5" conference foe in the form ok Kentucky's Kento Yamada in the B1 Singles Bracket quarterfinals.
Fellow Tech freshman Lucca Silva was also victories in his first-round affair, taking down Wofford's Kyle Barr 7-6, 6-2. The Sao Paulo, Brazil native will greet Charlotte's Henry Liebrman in the quarterfinals of the C2 Singles Bracket.
Fanis Kontopoulos, Gonzalo Garcia and Caio Reuter were all unable to collect a first-round victory and will continue on in the consolation bracket. Kontopoulos will meet Mercer's Oliver Stuart after falling at the hands of Harvard's Robert Wrzesinski 6-4, 6-2 in the A2 Singles Bracket.
Garcia was tripped up by North Carolina's Ladd Harrison in the first round of the C1 Singles Bracket. The Tech sophomore dropped the match in three sets with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 final. As far as Rueter is concerned, the 5-foot-7 freshman out of Belo Horizonte, Brazil was upended 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 by WFU's Charles Parry. Rueter will square up with Brooks Green out of Davidson in the DI Singles Bracket.
The Golden Eagles had success during doubles play, with two of Tech's three tandems earning a win in the first round. Wenceslao Albin and Elias Grubert edged GSU's McFarlane and Huynh 7-6, while Fanis Kontopoulos and Carlos Vicente triumphed 7-6 over James Madison's Alvaro Arce and Gonzalo Adis.
The TTU tandem of Marc Mila and Gonzalo Garcia were tripped up 6-3 by Harvard's Galen Lee and Constantin Zoske.
Photo by Tony Marable
