THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s tennis started its spring season on Saturday with the first day of the MLK Invitational at Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
The day started with doubles action with the No. 3 ranked pairing in the nation of Marcus McDaniel and Andres Martin hitting the courts for the first time since reaching the semifinals of ITA Fall Nationals. McDaniel/Martin took on Kotzen/Hashimoto of Columbia winning their match 6-3.
“There’s a lot of pressure that comes with being ranked No. 3 in the nation,” McDaniel said. “We aren’t satisfied yet with number three. We like the pressure that everybody is after us but we’re rock solid out there now. We know each other’s games in and out. I think it’s going to be a really hard time for other people to beat us.”
McDaniel continued his stellar play when he took the court for his singles match against Jayden Templeman of Columbia. McDaniel was in control for the entire match winning 6-3, 6-2.
“This past week I’ve been serving a lot better,” McDaniel remarked. “I think the serve helped me through this match. It allowed me to focus on my return game knowing I was going to win my service game.”
In a match-up against a ranked opponent, Keshav Chopra faced No. 87 Hugo Hashimoto of Columbia. Chopra returned the hard-hitting Hashimoto’s initial attempts and kept that momentum on his way to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
“I’ve been getting in my head about who’s ranked and who’s not. I give a lot of credit to people who are ranked but I’ve put in a lot of work over the break, over these last few weeks. I think I’m just as good as any of these guys,” Chopra said.
Chopra also won his doubles match with Pablo Schelcher against Finklestein/Westphal, 6-4. The pairing played close to the net for much of the match, a strategy they have been working on.
“We’ve been working on it a bunch in practice,” Chopra said. “After the serve, we make sure the guy at the net he needs to find that next ball, so we need to be on top of the net, we have to be ready. It adds a whole new layer of pressure when they see us taking over the top of the net.”
Chen Dong was the final victorious Yellow Jacket on the day. His first set was tight until the tiebreaker which Dong won 7-2. He continued his dominance into the second set winning it 6-1 to take the match.
Tech is back in action Sunday at 2 p.m. for day two of the MLK Invitational at Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
Full Results
Singles
Chen Dong (Georgia Tech) def. Max Westphal (Columbia) 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
Marcus McDaniel (Georgia Tech) def. Jayden Templeman (Columbia) 6-3, 6-2
No. 12 Alex Kotzen (Columbia) def. No. 9 Andres Martin (Georgia Tech) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Keshav Chopra (Georgia Tech) def. No. 87 Hugo Hashimoto (Columbia) 6-3, 6-2
Austen Huang (Columbia) def. Brandon McKinney (Georgia Tech) 6-2, 6-1
Ishaan Ravichander (Columbia) def. Pablo Schelcher (Georgia Tech) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles
Pablo Schelcher/Keshav Chopra (Georgia Tech) def. Alex Finkelstein/Max Westphal (Columbia) 6-4
No. 3 Marcus McDaniel/Andres Martin (Georgia Tech) def. Alex Kotzen/Hugo Hashimoto (Columbia) 6-3
Jayden Templeman/Roko Horvat (Columbia) def. Chen Dong/Brandon McKinney (Georgia Tech) 6-4
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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