SATURDAY 10/27 RECAP

By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Two members of the Tennessee Tech tennis team made their way to Birmingham Saturday for the ITF USA F29 Futures Tournament, competing against a massive field mixed with both collegiate and professional players.

Opening up the qualifying draw, which featured 128 competitors, freshman Lucca Silva earned a quick, two-set victory. The rookie went head-to-head with Varun Luthra, posting an easy (6-1) victory in the opening set. He followed it up with a commanding (6-0) win in set two to advance to the round of 64.

Silva took a loss in the second round of the day, falling to Dragos Constantin Ignat of Romania in straight sets (6-1, 6-1).

Also competing for the Golden Eagles was freshman Rafael Tosetto, who squared up with Stratton Gilmore in the round of 128 of the qualifying draw. After collecting a (6-2) victory in set one, Gilmore made the Tech rookie work in set two. Tosetto proved up to the task, edging his opponent for a (7-5) win to advance to the second round.

The Golden Eagle youngster looked on his way to the next day of action, capturing a (6-4) win in the first set against Giles Hussey of Great Britain. Hussey flipped the script, however, defeating Tosetto in back-to-back sets (6-4, 6-2).

Photo by Thomas Corhern