Elmira Duo Earns Win at King’s College Tournament
Full Results
Wilkes-Barre, PA -- Despite competing with only four men, the Elmira College men's tennis team made a valiant showing at the first annual King's College Tennis Tournament. The tournament brought teams from all across the Mid-Atlantic region to Wilkes-Barre, PA to compete for individual accolades across several flights of play.
The day started off with eight doubles matches on the courts, including both Elmira matchups. In the first doubles flight,
Keith Bujak '15 and his partner,
Steve Carlette '16 took on the doubles team from McDaniel College. The Elmira duo was down a break at 3-4 but recovered to win the next five games and secure the 8-4 victory. That win earned the pair a meeting with the number one seeded doubles team from King's College. King's, the eventual flight champion, would win that second match by a score of 8-2 and earned a birth in the semifinals.
In the second doubles flight,
Satchal Waters '16 and his partner,
Pavle Vashakidze '16 found themselves matched up with a doubles team from McDaniel College. EC fell in a hole early, but rallied to cut a 1-4 deficit to a 4-5 deficit. McDaniel regrouped on the change-over and pulled away down the stretch, winning 8-4.
With both doubles teams eliminated from their respective main draws, the attention of the Purple and Gold turned to the singles draws.
In the first singles flight, Vashakidze squared off against Oneonta State's Mackenzie Park. Vashakidze battled with Park, but he was unable to get anything going as he fell 6-0, 6-1. Bujak, also playing in the first flight, found himself across the net from the number two seeded player in the tournament, Stephen Blank from King's College. Bujak attempted to pull off the upset, however, Blank's power was too much as he won by a score of 6-1, 6-2.
In the second singles flight, Waters took on Terry Long from Rutgers-Camden. Waters fought through an ankle injury as best he could on the cold morning, but the challenge proved too much to overcome as he fell 6-2, 6-1. Carlette took to the court shortly after, playing Ryohei Nakamora from Oneonta State. Nakamora ended EC's day at the tournament, defeating Carlette 6-2, 6-1.
The Soaring Eagles will take a short break to recover before heading out for their final individual tournament of the fall season. Elmira will travel to Ithaca, NY to participate in the 2013 USTA-ITA Northeast Regional Championships September 20th-22nd.