Sept. 14, 2014
Complete results, draw and schedule
Athens, Ga. – Nathan Rakitt and Christopher Eubanks won a pair of matches Sunday to advance to the Monday championship match of the top doubles division at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships at the Dan MaGill Tennis Center.
Meanwhile, freshman Michael Kay and senior Eduardo Segura each won two matches in the Division II draw of singles and will play semifinals matches on Monday in the rain-interrupted event.
Rakitt, a junior from Marietta, Ga., and Eubanks, a freshman from Atlanta, are the third-seeded doubles team in Division I doubles. They knocked off Armstrong Atlantic’s Fernando Bogajo and Pablo Gor, 8-4, in the round of 16, Sunday, then came back to defeat Florida State’s Cristian Gonzalez Mendez and Marco Nunez, 7-5, 6-3, in the quarterfinals. The Seminole duo had eliminated Tech’s Kay and Cole Fiegel in the quarterfinals, 8-6.
The Tech tandem awaits the winner of the other semifinal match between Baker Newman and Ryan Smith of Vanderbilt and Andrew Dromsky and Igor Smelyanski of Tennessee, which was delayed until 12 noon Monday. The championship match is set for 2 p.m.
“Chris and Nathan had two good wins in doubles today,” said Tech coach Kenny Thorne. “They played a few tournaments together over the summer, so I think that is helping. They can be a very good team. Even though we haven’t worked on doubles yet this year, I like what I see from all our guys.”
Kay, from Atlanta, knocked off College of Charleston’s Charlie Ghriskey and Kentucky’s Gus Benson in straight sets Sunday to reach a semi-final match against Hampton Drake at 9 a.m. Monday. Segura, from Madrid, Spain, will meet Georgia’s Peter Bertram at the same time after scoring a pair of straight-set wins Sunday against Will Neuner of Florida Atlantic and Connor Huertas Del Pino of East Tennessee State.
“Michael and Eddie both had very good days today in singles,” said Thorne. “They corrected some mistakes from yesterday and had solid, complete matches today. A lot of our success is going to be hoe clearly we think under pressure. All the guys fight hard, but we want them to fight hard with the right game plan.”
Other Tech players completed consolation play Sunday with Eubanks and Carlos Benito picking up victories in Division I singles, and freshman Elijah Melendez winning in Division II singles.
SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPSDan Magill Tennis Complex, Athens, Ga.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 14 RESULTS
Division II Singles – Round of 16 Michael Kay (Georgia Tech) def. Charlie Ghriskey (College of Chatleston), 6-3, 6-0 Eduardo Segura (Georgia Tech) def. Will Neuner (Florida Atlantic), 6-1, 7-6 (2)
Division II Singles – Quarterfinals Michael Kay (Georgia Tech) def. Gus Benson (Kentucky), 6-3, 6-2 Eduardo Segura (Georgia Tech) def. Connor Huertas Del Pino (ETSU), 6-3, 6-3
Division II Singles – Consolation Elijah Melendez (Georgia Tech) def. Sunay Bhat (Tennessee), 6-2, 6-1 Zack Zapatero (Davidson) def. Daniel Yun (Georgia Tech) vs. 7-6 (4), 1-6, 1-0 (10-2)
Division I Doubles – Quarterfinals [3] Christopher Eubanks/Nathan Rakitt (Georgia Tech) def. Fernando Bogajo/Pablo Gor (Armstrong Atlantic), 8-2 Cristian Gonzalez Mendez/Marco Nunez (Florida State) def. Cole Fiegel/Michael Kay (Georgia Tech), 8-6
Division I Doubles – Semifinals [3] Christopher Eubanks/Nathan Rakitt (Georgia Tech) def. Cristian Gonzalez Mendez/Marco Nunez (Florida State), 7-5, 6-3
Division I Singles – Consolation Simon Pritchard (Kennesaw State) def. Cole Fiegel (Georgia Tech), 6-3, 6-2 [5] Ben Wagland (Georgia) def. #76 [6] Nathan Rakitt (Georgia Tech), 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6) Christopher Eubanks (Georgia Tech) def. Luis Valero (Tennessee), 6-3, 6-4 Carlos Benito (Georgia Tech) def. George Cartledge (Virginia Tech), 6-3, 6-3
MONDAY, SEPT. 15 SCHEDULE
Division II Singles – Semifinals* Michael Kay (Georgia Tech) vs. Hampton Drake (Clemson), 9 a.m. Eduardo Segura (Georgia Tech) vs. Peter Bertran (Georgia), 9 a.m. *championship match at 12 noon
Division I Doubles – Finals [3] Christopher Eubanks/Nathan Rakitt (Georgia Tech) vs. semifinal winner to be determined, 2 p.m.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S TENNIS
Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team is in its 17th year under head coach Kenny Thorne. The Yellow Jackets have played in the NCAA Championship 14 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.
