Oct. 19, 2016
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech men’s tennis returns to action this week as they travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to compete at the ITA Regional Championships from Oct. 20-24. The crew will be competing for spots in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in early November.
The whole squad will be heading down to Florida State’s Scott Speicher Tennis Center with the exception of junior Christopher Eubanks. Eubanks qualified for nationals earlier in October by advancing to the quarterfinals at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa.
Team update: The squad kicked off the fall season at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in September. Senior Carlos Benito competed in the qualifying round in Tulsa but did not advance to the main draw. The team hosted the Georgia Tech Invitational the second weekend in October where Cole Fiegel and Phillip Gresk paired up for the first time to take a doubles title for the Yellow Jackets.
Singles Update: Daniel Yun, Cole Fiegel, Phillip Gresk and Elijah Melendez will compete in the qualifying rounds starting on Thursday. Elijah holds a record of 3-1 heading into the week after competing at the Georgia Tech Invitational. Christopher Yun, Andrew Li, Michael Kay and Carlos Benito will represent the Yellow Jackets in the main draw. The only freshman on the team, Chris Yun boasts a 5-3 record this fall. Benito is 3-2, having advanced to the quarterfinals of the Southern Intercollegiate Championships.
Doubles Update: The Yellow Jackets will be testing out two new doubles pairings at the ITA Regional Championships. Brothers Daniel and Chris Yun will be teaming up together for the first time in intercollegiate competition. Michael Kay and Andrew Li will also be making their debut. Gresk and Fiegel will be put to the test again following their title at the Georgia Tech Invitational. Also returning is the pairing of Elijah Melendez and Carlos Benito. Melendez and Benito hold a record of 1-0 after defeating a pair from Notre Dame at the 2015 Bulldog Scramble.
Head coach Kenny Thorne says: “I feel we need more players to show they are serious about the high goals we have for this season. Every individual tournament is a new opportunity to make a name for yourself and show the country that you are the one that people should be worried about. I always say `why not us’ or `why not me’ in this tournament. I believe deeply when someone settles in to who they are on the court and just does the basics very well for a long time then they excel. We have some guys that can do that if they settle down and compete well. The competition is always good so we need to play smart, embrace the pressure and finish well this tournament.”
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