Oct. 12, 2017
Qualifying Round Bracket | 2017 ITA Southeast Regional Championship Central
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s tennis is set to host the 2017 ITA Southeast Regional presented by Oracle this weekend, beginning on Friday, Oct. 13 and running through Tuesday, Oct. 17. Qualifying singles play begins on Friday with main draw singles and doubles starting Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets joins 16 Division I programs on the courts of the Byers Tennis Complex, where seven Jackets will see action in singles play while also fielding three doubles teams.
Representing Tech in the main draw singles will be Carlos Divar, Michael Kay, Chris Yun, Daniel Yun,and Elijah Melendez while Phillip Gresk and Brandon Freestone will compete in the qualifying singles round.
In doubles, Divar and D. Yun will team up, as well as C. Yun/Gresk and Melendez/Kay from Georgia Tech.
The champions from the singles and doubles tournaments will receive automatic entry into the 2017 Oracle/ITA National Fall Championships in Palm Desert, Calif., on Nov. 1-5.
Admission to the five-day event is free of charge with parking available in McCamish parking lot.
MORE ON THE YELLOW JACKETS:
Divar kicked off the 2017 fall slate with a bang in the ITA All-American Championships. The 5-9 sophomore made it to the main draw’s Round of 32 in the tournament after winning four-straight matches to advance out of the qualifying round. There, he outlasted Buffalo and Louisville in three-set battles as well as Tulane and Arkansas in straight-sets.
His impressive start to his sophomore season comes after a fine freshman campaign. At the four position, Divar registered a 14-9 record overall with a 13-8 mark in dual match play. Hailing from Vitoria, Spain, he also found success in doubles, reaching as high as No. 48 nationally with teammate Carlos Benito (12-9 record in dual matches).
Kay will look to finish his collegiate career strong, being one of just four senior veterans on the 2017-18 Tech roster. The Alpharetta native registered a 7-10 singles record and a 5-8 mark in dual match doubles play.
Melendez had the best showing in the pre-qualifying round of the ITA All-American Championships of any Yellow Jacket, finishing one match removed of a qualifying round entry. After a shaky start that required a come-from-behind, three-set victory against Texas A&M, Melendez was able to settle and win handily over Columbia make the Round of 64. There, the senior outlasted another three-set thriller, overcoming Middle Tennessee’s Gonzalo Raschiatore before ultimately falling to Tulane in straight-sets.
The Suwanee native will also try to carry forward his successful junior season into his final year. The lefty finished with a 13-6 record in singles play and posted a 7-7 mark in doubles.
C. Yun once again launched the season with a fine showing, downing Austen Huang of Columbia in the ITA All-American Championships easily in pre-qualifying before defeating Iowa’s contender in the Round of 64. The 6-footer fell to Oklahoma State’s highly ranked representative in a hard-fought 7-6 (1), 6-4 contest.
Last season, C. Yun hit the ground running as a freshman in 2016-17 and looks to do the same in his sophomore campaign. Highlighted by an impressive victory over No. 39 Minnesota in the opening round of the NCAA Gainesville Regional, Yun recorded a 21-14 singles record (10-5 in dual matches) primarily in the six spot for the Jackets. The Marietta native also recorded a big win over Duke in the ACC quarterfinals to cement himself as a player to watch.
D. Yun will open his fall slate this weekend in the ITA Southeast Regional, hoping to continue the momentum from a strong junior campaign into his senior season. Primarily playing at the No. 5 and 6 positions for the Yellow Jackets, D. Yun registered a 21-17 overall record in singles play with a 12-8 mark in dual match play. Finished the year 13-19 in doubles at the No. 3 spot with a host of partners.
Gresk opened the fall schedule at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa where he was able to defeat Scott Paz of Eastern Washington in a three-set, come-from-behind battle, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1. The junior ultimately fell to ACC foe Notre Dame’s Guillermo Cabrera in pre-qualifying. The Warsaw, Poland native, returns for the Yellow Jackets after finishing 7-10 in singles and 7-8 in doubles. Gresk’s sophomore year was highlighted by a doubles title at the Georgia Tech Invitational with Cole Fiegel.
Freestone joins Georgia Tech after finishing seventh in Georgia and No. 93 nationally among seniors in high school. Hoping to carry momentum from his impressive 2017, the Roswell native notched wins over then-No. 36 senior and No. 22 junior in singles play earlier this year prior to college.
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