LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The Montreat College men's tennis team saw six of its student-athletes compete in a mixture of singles and doubles play at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) NAIA South Regional Championships on Thursday and Friday. Battling the area's best players, the Cavaliers totaled two match victories in Lawrenceville, Ga.
Paul Saemann secured one of the Cavs' two triumphs, both of which occurred in the singles championship bracket. Facing off against a foe from Tennessee Wesleyan University, Saemann captured a 6-1, 6-0 win to advance out of the round of 64 and into the round of 32. There, the Werder, Germany native met the tournament's No. 1 overall seed. Saemann grabbed one game during the initial set but ultimately lost 6-1, 6-0, ending his journey with a 1-1 record.
Newcomer
Jacob Womble proved responsible for Montreat's other singles win. Also in the round of 64 against opposition from TWU, the graduate student bounced back from a 6-3 defeat in the opening frame to seize the following two sets, 6-2 and 6-4. Womble's reward was a matchup with the No. 2 overall seed. Despite a valiant effort, Womble suffered a 6-1, 6-1 defeat and concluded his tournament run with a 1-1 showing.
Youssef Idboufous,
Ben Smith and
Julian Stolevski notched 0-2 records in singles play after receiving byes in the round of 64. Idboufous dropped a 6-1, 6-3 final in the round of 32 versus a Tennessee Wesleyan foe. He forced a third set in the consolation bracket's quarterfinal round, but he ultimately came up short to a Georgia Gwinnett College student-athlete, 6-1, 2-6, 10-4. Smith faced off against TWU and GGC opposition as well, losing a 6-0, 6-1 decision in the round of 32 before being bounced in the consolation's round of 16, 6-1, 6-0. Both of Stolevski's defeats occurred in the same rounds as Smith. The Hendersonville, N.C. native fell 6-0, 6-1 in each match, the first of which took place against the No. 5 overall seed.
Fabrizio Moreno also competed in the singles bracket, receiving an opening-round bye to meet up with the seventh-seeded player in the round of 32. The junior forced a third set, answering a 6-0 loss with a 6-3 triumph; however, Moreno dropped the final frame via a 6-0 score to conclude his efforts.
The Cavaliers also participated in the doubles portion of the tournament. All three Montreat pairs battled top-four seeds and lost their round-of-16 matches. Womble and Saemann fell to the third-seeded tandem, 8-6. Smith and Stolevski and Idboufous and Moreno dropped 8-2 finals to the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds, respectively.
For a look at results from the ITA NAIA South Regional Championships, click
here.
The Montreat College men's tennis squad wraps up its fall slate on Saturday, Oct. 3, with a team dual match at Emory & Henry University. Doubles play is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. in Emory, Va.
