Sept. 28, 2014
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THE FLATS – Christopher Eubanks scored a straight-set victory for the singles championship and teamed up with Michael Kay for the doubles title Sunday at the Georgia Tech Invitational at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
Eubanks, a freshman from Atlanta, defeated Eduardo Alfonzo of Florida Gulf Coast, 6-3, 6-4, to win the winners bracket of the main (A) draw.
“I was a little bit on edge after not playing Friday, but I felt like I played better and better as the tournament went on,” said Eubanks. “In the semi-finals match, I didn’t start off well, but I stayed confident and felt like everything would work out. My confidence grew as the match went on, and it carried through to the finals.”
“Chris came back in singles and played well. He put the pressure on his opponent and kept it up throughout the match,” said Tech coach Kenny Thorne. “Alfonzo had a very good tournament. For Chris to stay in charge like he did throughout the whole tournament should give him a lot of confidence going into the regionals.”
Eubanks and Kay survived two broken serves by winning two breaks of their own and outlasted Georgia State’s Zack Kennedy and Sofianne Chevallier, 8-7, in the A draw championship match, winning the tiebreaker, 7-5. Elijah Melendez and Daniel Yun cruised past another Georgia State team, Chinmay Handa and Valentin Horvat, 8-2, to win the B draw consolation final.
“I didn’t feel like it was a well-executed match for either team in the championship match,” said Thorne, “but our success for the season will depend on how we handle ourselves on days like that. For them to get that win was important.
In other action Sunday, Yun captured his first win of the weekend by downing Kennesaw State’s Manuel Castellanos, 6-2, 6-1. Melendez lost his consolation final in the B draw in straight sets to Gulf Coast’s Lucas Vaz, finishing the weekend 2-2, and Kay won in a walkover after his opponent was injured.
“Daniel relaxed very well in his singles match today,” added Thorne. “He looked like the good athlete that he is. He competed and got a good win for him and for the team.”
ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-QUALIFYING
Eduardo Segura won a three-set match (1-6, 7-5, 6-2) against Ryan Peniston of Memphis in the third round of the pre-qualification draw at the Saint Francis Health Systems ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. His lost his fourth-round match against Jaan Kononov of UMBC, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Players in pre-qualifying draw had to win four matches, two Saturday and two Sunday, to advance to the qualifying draw that starts Monday.
Tech continues competition in the championships Monday when Nathan Rakitt, ranked 76th, is in the qualifying draw of singles and is in the qualifying draw of doubles with Cole Fiegel. Segura and Carlos Benito, ranked 20th in the nation as a doubles team, are in the main draw of the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships, which begins Thursday at Tulsa, Okla.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S TENNIS
Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team is in its 17th year under head coach Kenny Thorne. The Yellow Jackets have played in the NCAA Championship 14 times. Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Tennis on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GT_MTEN). For more information on Tech men’s tennis, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
