Nov. 6, 2015
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. – Lake Buena Vista, Fla. – Nathan Rakitt and Andrew Li each won again in singles Friday, advancing to the quarterfinals of their respective draws at the USTA Clay Court Invitational at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.
Tournament central (includes links to draws and ESPN3 coverage)
SINGLES – Rakitt (Marietta, Ga.), seeded No. 2 in the tournament and ranked No. 101 in the country, defeated Tuki Jacobs of South Alabama, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, in the Gold draw round of 16. Freshman Andrew Li (Hong Kong) downed Central Florida’s Reece Acree, 7-5, 6-3, in the Garnet draw round of 16
Rakitt has a quarterfinal match Saturday against Pedro Iamachkine of Pepperdine. Li moves on to face Eduardo Alfonzo of Florida Gulf Coast in the Garnet quarterfinals. Quarterfinal and semifinal matches in both draws will both be played Saturday.
Meanwhile, junior Cole Fiegel (Alachua, Fla.) took a three-set match from Penn State’s Marc Collado in the consolation bracket of the Gold draw before being eliminated by Pepperdine’s Gabriel Sidney in straight sets. Daniel Yun (Marietta, Ga.) also went 1-1 in the consolation bracket of the Garnet draw, beating Simon Julin of Stetson before falling to FSU’s Jake Albo.
DOUBLES – Li and Yun were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Garnet draw, 8-4, by the FSU team of Jack Haffey and Michael Rinaldi.
USTA CLAY COURT INVITATIONAL
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
FRIDAY RESULTS
Men’s Open Singles – Gold Draw
Round of 16 – #101 Nathan Rakitt (2) def. Tuki Jacobs (South Alabama), 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
Consolation round of 16 – Cole Fiegel def. Marc Collado (Penn State), 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-2)
Consolation quarterfinals – Gabriel Sidney (Pepperdine) def. Cole Fiegel, 7-5, 6-3
Men’s Open Singles – Garnet Draw
Round of 16 – Andrew Li def. Reece Acree (Central Florida), 7-5, 6-3
Consolation round of 16 – Daniel Yun def. Simon Julin (Stetson), 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
Consolation quarterfinals – Jake Albo (Florida State) def. Daniel Yun, 6-3, 6-4
Men’s Open Doubles – Garnet Draw
Quarterfinals – Jack Haffey/Michael Rinaldi (Florida State) def. Andrew Li/Daniel Yun, 8-4
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION – Fourteen men’s and 17 women’s institutions entered players competing in singles and doubles throughout the weekend, with championship matches in all draws scheduled for Sunday. Play will be conducted at both the ESPN Wide World of Sports and Grand Cypress Resort Thursday and Friday, with the Wide World of Sports hosting all competition Saturday and Sunday. Competition Thursday and Sunday will be streamed live on ESPN3. The USTA Clay Court Invitational is the fifth event on Georgia Tech’s fall schedule, which concludes next weekend with the Bulldog Scramble in Athens. Sophomore Christopher Eubanks is not competing in either event after receiving an at-large berth in next week’s USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S TENNIS
Georgia Tech’s men’s tennis team is in 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.
