George Washington University
Rice
GW Men's Tennis Completes Day 1 of Rice Invitational
3/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
HOUSTON - The George Washington men's tennis team wrapped day one of the 57th Annual Rice Invitational on Saturday, falling in both ends of a doubleheader at the Owls' George R. Brown Tennis Center. The Colonials will take on the No. 40 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (11-5) on Sunday evening in the tournament finale.
GW (6-11, 0-1 A-10) started the day with a loss to host Rice (10-11), 4-0, before being downed by Louisiana-Lafayette (13-10) in the nightcap, 4-1.
In the day's opening match, the Colonials dropped the early doubles point with losses at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions.
In singles play, the Rice Owls quickly took the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 matches to clinch the victory. When the match concluded, senior Francisco Dias had a 6-3, 5-3 lead over Max Andrews in second-flight action, while junior Danil Zelenkov won a first-set tie break and was up 7-6, 4-1 over Srikar Alla. Both Alla and Andrews had defeated ranked opponents in their most recent matches entering the tournament.
Rice went on to defeat No. 40 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the second half of its doubleheader, downing a ranked opponent for the second time in the last week.
In the nightcap, the Colonials fought hard but were unable to take the victory as Louisiana-Lafayette clinched a 4-1 win.
The Ragin' Cajuns nabbed the doubles point, defeating Colonials in the bottom two spots as the top match was unfinished.
In the singles slate, freshman Christos Hadjgeorgiou defeated Louisiana-Lafayette's Vlad Kramarow in the No. 4 spot, 6-4, 6-3, to notch the point for the Buff and Blue. Dias battled in second-flight action, going the distance but ultimately falling, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, to Edgar Lopez.
Juniors Zelenkov and Cahit Kapukiran were locked in three-setters at the Nos. 2 and 6 spots, respectively, but were unable to complete their matches as the Ragin' Cajuns clinched the match with straight-set victories in third- and fifth-flight action.
With the win over GW, Louisiana-Lafayette notched its second triumph of the day, also defeating No. 40 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi earlier in its first matchup of the tournament.
The Colonials will wrap the weekend of play against the Islanders on Sunday. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. at Rice's George R. Brown Tennis Center.
Rice 4, George Washington 0
Singles
1. Srikar Alla (RICE) vs. Danil Zelenkov (GW) 6-7, 1-4, unfinished
2. Max Andrew (RICE) vs. Francisco Dias (GW) 3-6, 3-5, unfinished
3. Jamie Malik (RICE) def. Chris Fletcher (GW) 6-0, 6-4
4. Adam Gustafsson (RICE) def. Julius Tverijonas (GW) 6-2, 6-4
5. David Warren (RICE) def. Chris Reynolds (GW) 6-2, 6-4
6. Zach Yablon (RICE) vs. Christos Hadjigeorgiou (GW) 7-6, 1-2, unfinished
Doubles
1. David Warren/Max Andrews (RICE) vs. Francisco Dias/Danil Zelenkov (GW) unfinished
2. Jamie Malik/Zch Yablon (RICE) def. Chris Fletcher/Julius Tverijonas (GW) 6-2
3. Adam Gustafsson/Gustavo Gonzalez (RICE) def. Cahit Kapukiran/Chris Reynolds (GW) 6-1
Louisiana-Lafayette 4, George Washington 1
Singles
1. Jake Wynan (LL) vs. Danil Zelenkov (GW) 7-5, 2-6, 1-1, unfinished
2. Edgar Lopez (LL) def. Francisco Dias (GW) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. Damian Farinola (LL) def. Chris Fletcher (GW) 6-4, 6-4
4. Christos Hadjigeorgiou (GW) def. Vlad Kramarov (LL) 6-4, 6-3
5. Will Huyton (LL) def. Chris Reynolds (GW) 6-3, 6-1
6. Jarred Wynan (LL) vs. Cahit Kapukiran (GW) 6-1, 2-6, 3-2, unfinished
Doubles
1. Jake Wynan/Will Huyton (LL) vs. Francisco Dias/Danil Zelenkov (GW) 6-6, unfinished
2. Damian Farinola/Edgar Lopez (LL) def. Julius Tverijonas/Christos Hadjigeorgiou (GW) 6-2
3. Coleman Wahlborg/Jarred Wynan (LL) def. Cahit Kapukiran/Chris Reynolds (GW) 7-5
Players Mentioned
