Sept. 14, 2013
Athens, Ga. – Four of five Georgia Tech players advanced with first-round victories in singles Friday on the first day of competition at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Freshmen Carlos Benito and Cole Fiegel and sophomore Casey Kay all won in their Yellow Jacket debuts. Benito, from Madrid, Spain, took a 6-4, 6-3 decision over Nathan Debut of Stetson in Division I, while Fiegel (Alachua, Fla.) took three sets (6-0, 1-6, 6-2) to defeat Robert Dubuque of Florida Atlantic, and Kay (Atlanta, Ga.) outlasted Ricardo Pabon of East Tennessee State, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, in Division II. Sophomore Anish Sharma (Alpharetta, Ga.) defeated Franco Echenique, 7-6, 6-4, in Division II.
Benito advanced to face Vanderbilt’s Rhys Johnson, while Kay moves on to meet Charlie Ghriskey of the College of Charleston, Fiegel will play Ignacio Hernandez of Armstrong Atlantic, and Sharma will play Jose Massalle Ferrer of Charlotte in second-round matches Saturday morning.
Colin Edwards, a junior from Valrico, Fla., dropped a straight-set decision to Liberty’s Egon Samaai in the Division III bracket.
Both of Tech’s doubles teams were eliminated Friday. Fiegel and Edwards won their first-round match against Mercer’s Austin Emmet and Oliver Snalder before felling to Kentucky’s Alejandro Gomez and Panav Jha. Benito and Kay had a first-round bye but lost in the round of 32 to East Tennessee’s David Biosca and Roger Ordeig.
SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPSDan Magill Tennis Complex, Athens, Ga.Friday Results
Division I Singles – Round of 64 Carlos Benito (GT) d. Nathan Debut (Stetson), 6-4, 6-3
Division II Singles – Round of 64 Casey Kay (GT) d. Ricardo Pabon (ETSU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 Cole Fiegel (GT) d. Robert Dubuque (FAU), 6-0, 1-6, 6-2 Anish Sharma (GT) d. Franco Echenique (Barry), 7-6 (4), 6-4
Division III Singles – Round of 64 Egon Samaai (Liberty) d. Colin Edwards (GT), 6-4, 6-2
Division I Doubles – Round of 64 Carlos Benito/Casey Kay (GT), bye Cole Fiegel/Colin Edwards (GT) d. Austin Emmet/Oliver Snalder (Mercer), 8-5
Division I Doubles – Round of 32 David Biosca/Roger Ordeig (ETSU) d. Carlos Benito/Casey Kay (GT), 8-6 Alejandro Gomez/Panav Jha (Kentucky) d. Cole Fiegel/Colin Edwards (GT), 8-3
