Jan. 11, 2014
THE FLATS – Freshman Carlos Benito and Cole Fiegel picked up straight-set wins Saturday evening as Georgia Tech handled Stetson, 4-0, to complete an opening day sweep of a men’s tennis double-header at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
The Yellow Jackets (2-0) defeated Georgia Southern, 6-1, earlier in the day. Over the two matches, the Yellow Jackets gave away only two sets in matches that were completed and lost one of six doubles matches.
Sophomores Casey Kay and Nathan Rakitt gave Tech the lead early in doubles play with a thorough 6-2 win over the Hatters’ Hans Adrian Riseng and Nathan Debut at the No. 1 spot. The next doubles match to conclude was a 6-3 win for Laurynas Antropikas and Cahit Kapukiran of Stetson over Tech’s Anish Sharma and Cole Fiegel on court No. 3.
With all eyes on the No. 2 court, Benito and doubles partner Eduardo Segura, both from Madrid, Spain, battled their way to a 6-4 victory over Stetson’s Chester Espie and Simon Julin. This clinched the doubles point, giving the Jackets a 1-0 overall lead going into singles play.
Of the Jackets’ doubles success, head coach Kenny Thorne said, “I was really happy with how Casey and Nathan gelled, as well as Carlos and Eddie [Segura]. So we had gone with guys who had known each other for a while and had played with each other in the past. Both pairs did well for us in both matches.”
The junior Segura was the first to win his singles match, 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot over Kapukiran. Then Tech’s freshmen took over, as Tech’s Fiegel beat Espie 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 5 to leave the Jackets on the edge of victory. Only minutes later, Benito locked up a 6-2, 6-4 win against Antropikas at No. 3, and the victory along with it.
“I liked how matches we were up in, we closed out quickly,” said Thorne of his freshmen. “It was nice for Carlos and Cole to, as freshmen, to help us win. They know it’s only going to get tougher, but we’re headed in the right direction. They’re strong. Hopefully they’ll be fearless. It’s going to be a tough schedule, and next weekend is going to be a good test for us.”
Tech’s next competition will be the MLK Invitational next weekend, Jan. 18-20, at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex, a round-robin tournament featuring No. 3-ranked Georgia, No. 21 Memphis and No. 11 Mississippi.
Georgia Tech 4, Stetson 0
Jan 11, 2014 at Atlanta, Ga. (Ken Byers Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. Nathan Rakitt (GT) vs. Nathan Debut (STET) 4-6, 3-2, unfinished
2. Eduardo Segura (GT) def. Cahit Kapukiran (STET) 6-2, 6-2
3. Carlos Benito (GT) def. Laurynas Antropikas (STET) 6-2, 6-4
4. Casey Kay (GT) vs. Simon Julin (STET) 4-6, 3-4, unfinished
5. Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Chester Espie (STET) 6-3, 6-1
6. Anish Sharma (GT) vs. Hans Adrian Riseng (STET) 3-6, 1-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Nathan Rakitt/Casey Kay (GT) def. Hans Adrian Riseng/Nathan Debut (STET) 6-2
2. Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (GT) def. Chester Espie/Simon Julin (STET) 6-4
3. Laurynas Antropikas/Cahit Kapukiran (STET) def. Cole Fiegel/Anish Sharma (GT) 6-3
Match Notes:
Stetson 0-1, Georgia Tech 2-0
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,5,3)
Match played indoors
