Oct. 14, 2015
USTA/ITA Regional information | Tournament draws and results
THE FLATS – Eight members of Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team are in the field to compete in this weekend’s USTA/ITA Southeast Regional championship in Gainesville, Fla. The event begins Thursday and continues through Monday, when the championship matches in singles and doubles will be held.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION — The Southeast Regional is one of 12 regional events taking place around the country this weekend. The site alternates between venues in each state annually. The Southeast regional gathers 64 of the top collegiate men’s players and 64 of the top doubles teams from Georgia and Florida for the five-day event that concludes with finals in both draws Monday morning.
TEAM UPDATE — Georgia Tech returns eight of nine letterwinners from its 2015 NCAA Tournament team that finished last spring 14-13 and reached the semifinals of the ACC Championship. The lone loss was senior Eduardo Segura, Tech’s leader in singles victories.
Among the returnees, Christopher Eubanks (Atlanta, Ga.) is No. 24 in the fall ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) rankings, and senior Nathan Rakitt (Marietta, Ga.) is No. 101. Tech has two doubles teams ranked, including Carlos Benito/Cole Fiegel and Eubanks/Michael Kay.
SINGLES UPDATE — Eubanks, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, is the No. 4 seed in the 64-player main singles draw, which also includes Rakitt, junior Cole Fiegel (Alachua, Fla.) and sophomore Michael Kay (Alpharetta, Ga.).
Casey Kay, Andrew Li, Elijah Melendez and Daniel Yun begin the Yellow Jackets’ competition in the qualifying draw, which begins Thursday with 44 players competing for eight spots in the main draw, which begins Friday.
Eubanks is 5-2 this fall, having reached the semifinals of the Southern Intercollegiate Championships and going 1-1 in the main singles draw of the ITA All-American Championships. Fiegel won two of three matches in the pre-qualifying draw of the ITA All-Americans and is 5-1 this fall. Michael Kay is 4-2 in singles, Melendez 4-3 and Yun 3-3.
DOUBLES UPDATE — Eubanks and Rakitt, as well as the Kay brothers, will be back on the court as partners again this weekend, while head coach Kenny Thorne will experiment with the other two pairings, teaming Yun with freshman Li and Melendez with Fiegel for the 64-team doubles draw.
Both of Tech’s doubles teams in the ITA All-Americans — Eubanks/Rakitt and Benito/Fiegel — lost in the opening round of qualifying. Melendez and Yun swept through to the title of Division II at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships and are 6-1 this fall. Casey and Michael Kay won the title at the Yellow Jackets’ own Georgia Tech Fall Invitational and are 3-0.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S TENNIS
Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team is beginning its 18th year under head coach Kenny Thorne. The Yellow Jackets have played in the NCAA Championship 15 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.
