THE FLATS – On day one of the Georgia Tech Invitational, freshman Cole Gromley and senior Andrew Li led the Jackets in their final tournament of the fall season.
The tournament started off with doubles action, as Gromley and Joseph Gandolfo eased to an 8-1 victory over Vanderbilt’s Vikram Chari and Alex Ross in the white main draw. The duo then went on to face South Carolina’s Rafael Lambling and Daniel Rodrigues to win, 8-5.
The Jackets’ success in doubles continued with Andrew Li and Chris Yun grabbing their first win of the day against Georgia State’s Kevin Huynh and Patrick Lazo, 8-6. In the second round of action, Li and Yun swept Vanderbilt’s Marcus Ferreira and Adam Sraberg, 8-0. They will move on to face teammates, Gromley and Gandolfo.
In the olde gold draw, Phillip Gresk and Zummy Bauer earned a bye into the second round where they fell to South Carolina duo Rafael Lambling and Daniel Rodrigues, 8-5. Gresk and Bauer are set to compete against Georgia’s Alex Diaz and Robert Loeb in the olde gold consolation draw Sunday.
The first round of singles action put an end to day one. Gromley remained undefeated taking down Vanderbilt’s Marcus Ferreira, 6-2, 6-1. Li also continued his stellar performance to stay perfect through day one with a victory over South Carolina’s Joseph Brailovsky, 6-0, 7-5.
Sophomore Brandon Freestone also joined the win column, dominating Vanderbilt’s Adam Sraberg, 6-1, 6-1. Freestone advances to the second round of the white main draw. Gresk fell to Georgia’s Alex Phillips, 7-5, 7-6 (1). He will compete in the olde golde singles consolation bracket tomorrow.
Head coach Kenny Thorne reflects on the first day, “I felt like in both matches this morning we came out strong, but especially our two freshmen [Cole Gromley, Joseph Gandolfo]. From the first point, to the last point they played really well and I was proud of them. It was nice for Gandolfo to get his first college win coming off an injury after a long break.”
He continues, “It was also great for Yun [Chris] to compete and win two doubles matches which was very important for the team. In singles, Cole played a very complete match and beat a good player from Vanderbilt. Andrew [Li] and Brandon [Freestone] also had solid wins. Like any tournament, it only gets harder as it progresses, but we should be ready.”
Admission is free for the three-day event and parking is available in the Family Housing Lot on 10th street.
Live stats for the weekend can be found here.
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