Jan. 21, 2018
THE FLATS – In a back-and-forth, three-hour affair, Georgia Tech men’s tennis toughed out a 6-1 victory over Auburn on Sunday afternoon at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
The Yellow Jackets (3-1) improved to 3-0 at home en route to dealing the Tigers (3-1) their first loss of the season.
In doubles, Phillip Gresk and Andrew Li set the tone early by getting a 6-4 victory over Diego Chavarria and Lorenzo Rodriguez at the No. 3 spot. The tandem of Carlos Divar and Michael Kay followed suit soon after, taking the No. 1 position, 6-2, over Edward Nguyen and Olle Thestrup.
With a 1-0 lead, Tech entered doubles and stormed out to take the first set by three or more games on four courts. After taking the first set 6-2, Gresk dropped the second to Rodriguez, 6-1, and had to battle to force a 6-all tiebreaker in the third. Once in the breaker the Warsaw, Poland native made quick, winning 6-1.
With momentum slowing moving toward the Jackets’ favor, Kay bounced back from a second-set defeat to beat Brandon Laubser, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. With the win, Kay improved to 4-0 in duals this season.
The lone loss of the day would come in one of the closest matches of the day at the No. 1 spot. Divar fought to a 6-3 first-set victory before dropping the second, 6-4. Divar and Nguyen traded shots in the third, but wound up in the 6-all tiebreaker, where Nguyen won 7-4 to give Divar his first duals loss of the season.
Daniel Yun clinched the match for the Yellow Jackets at the No. 6 as he battled back from a heartbreaking second-set loss to down Tad Mcclean, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.
At the No. 2 singles, Elijah Melendez also suffered a back-breaking second-set loss in the tiebreak, but persevered in the third set to defeat Carles Sarrio, 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-3. Melendez joins Kay as the lone Jackets to be 4-0 in duals action so far this season.
Despite the match already being in hand, Chris Yun was locked in a tight battle with Thestrup at the No. 3 spot. After going up 6-2 in the first, C. Yun fell in the tiebreaker in the second to set up a third and deciding set. Despite the setback, C. Yun’s aggressive attack in the third secured him the win, 6-2
Georgia Tech heads out to the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Norman, Okla. Play is currently scheduled for Jan. 27-28.
For the latest information on Georgia Tech Men’s Tennis, follow us on Twitter ( @GT_MTEN ), Instagram ( GT_MTEN ), Facebook ( Georgia Tech Men’s Tennis ) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com .
