TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Tech men’s tennis opened play at ITA Sectionals on Friday, where two Yellow Jackets advanced to the round of 16 in singles, and two doubles teams advanced to the quarterfinals.
The morning opened with singles round of 32, where five Yellow Jackets were in action.
Gabrielle Brancatelli opened the tournament with a win in straight sets, defeating Mehdi Benchakroun from Central Florida, 6-4, 6-2.
Nate Bonetto also secured a win in the round of 32, defeating Billy Blaydes from Auburn in three sets, winning 6-1, 5-7, 6-1.
Freshman Gianluca Carlini battled in three sets against Roan Jones from Alabama, winning the first set 6-3, but fell in the next two sets, 3-6, 2-6.
Richard Biagiotti took on ACC opponent Joan Dous-Karpenschif from Florida State, but fell 6-7 (1-7), 4-6.
Newcomer Christophe Clement was the fifth match of the day for the Yellow Jackets, as he took on No. 77 Jack Loutit from Kentucky, but dropped the match 2-6, 6-7 (1-7).
All five Yellow Jackets will continue in the tournament, with Bonetto and Brancatelli advancing to the round of 16, while Carlini, Biagiotti and Clement move to the consolation bracket.
Three Yellow Jacket duos played in the doubles round of 16, with two winning their matches to advance.
The newly-formed duo of Bonetto/Carlini opened the tournament with a back-and-forth match against the pairing of Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle from Central Florida. The Yellow Jackets dropped the first set in a tiebreaker, 6-7 (6-8), but won the next set 6-4 and the breaker 10-8, to advance to the quarterfinals.
The duo of Brancatelli and Biagiotti also got a win in the first round, winning 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 over the Alabama duo of Damien Nezar and Roan Jones.
In the third doubles match of the day, Krish Arora and Clement traded sets with the duo of Mario Martinez Serrano and Niccolo Baroni from Mississippi State, but it was ultimately the Bulldogs who won the match, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 11-9.
Brancatelli/Biagiotti and Bonetto/Carlini advance to the quarterfinals on Friday.
ITA Sectional Championships Day 1:
Singles
R32: Nate Bonetto (Georgia Tech) def. Billy Blaydes (Auburn) 6-1, 5-7, 6-1
R32: Gabriele Brancatelli (Georgia Tech) def. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) 6-4, 6-2
R32: Joan Dous-Karpenschif (FSU) def. Richard Biagiotti (Georgia Tech) 7-6 (7-1), 6-4
R32: Roan Jones (Alabama) def. Gianluca Carlini (Georgia Tech) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
R32: Jack Loutit (Kentucky) def. Christophe Clement (Georgia Tech)
Doubles
Gabriele Brancatelli/Richard Biagiotti (Georgia Tech) def. Damien Nezar/Roan Jones (Alabama) 7-6 (7-1), 6-4
Gianluca Carlini/Nate Bonetto (Georgia Tech) def. Mehdi Benchakroun/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 10-8
Mario Martinez Serrano and Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Christophe Clement/Krish Arora (Georgia Tech) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 11-9
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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