Fresno State Athletics
`Dogs Strong in Singles at ITA Regional
10/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Oct. 17, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State men's tennis team completed the first day of action at the ITA Northern Cal Championship at the Hellman Tennis Complex at Cal.
On the first day of the tournament two Bulldogs advanced to the round of 32 in the singles bracket, set to begin Saturday.
"We had mixed results today, but overall we competed well," head coach Jay Udwadia said. "We showed toughness playing through injuries, but it's exciting that we still have life in the main draw of singles."
Fresno State junior Taylor Leiby began the tournament matched up with Kyle Erickson of Portland. Leiby played strong throughout the match and picked up the win in straight sets 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the round of 64. In the round of 64 Leiby ran into the No. 4 seed in the tournament Kalim Stewart of Cal. Stewart went on to win the match 6-1, 6-2.
Flavio Mollinedo started the regional tournament against Sherif Hamdy of St. Mary's. Mollinedo and Hamdy fought hard in the first set, with the Bulldog picking up the set in a tiebreaker 7-6(3). After the tough first set, Mollinedo cruised in the second, winning the match 7-6(3), 6-3. In the next round the Bulldog Junior faced off against the tournament's No. 9 seed Pedro Zerbini of Cal. Zerbini and Mollinedo battled, with Zerbini winning the match 6-4, 6-3.
Freshman Remi Boutillier started his second event as a Bulldog when he took on Gerald Ellison of St. Mary's. Boutillier controlled the first set winning 6-4, and continued solid play winning the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. Boutillier's next opponent of the day was Thai Tu of Cal. Boutillier forced a third set, by winning the second set in a tiebreaker. Tu controlled the third set to win the match 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-4.
Competing in his first event of the fall season, sophomore Siddharth Alapati took on Lucas Tirelli of St. Mary's. Alapati jumped ahead first winning the first set 6-3. Tirelli would then come back, grabbing the second set 6-2 and eventually the match when he won the third set 6-1.
Finishing the round of 128 for the `Dogs was Tejesvi Veerepalli. The junior battled Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong of Santa Clara in the first set. With the scored tied 5-5 Veerepalli rolled his ankle and was forced to retire due to injury, giving the victory to Hirakawa-Wong.
After receiving first-round byes, Rudolf Siwy, Mirko Zapletal, and Rikus de Villiers began singles play in the round of 64.
After a Bulldog Classic singles championship, sophomore Rikus de Villiers took on Chris Aria of UC Davis. De Villiers had no problem with Aria as advanced to the round of 32, after a 6-0, 6-2 victory.
Siwy faced off against Jeff Zeller of Stanford to begin the tournament the round of 64. The Bulldog senior continued impressive singles play as he won the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 to move on to the round of 32.
Zapletal started the round of 64 against Artem Gramma of Pacific. Zapletal battled but was unable to win a set, as he dropped the match 6-2, 6-3.
The Bulldogs will be back in action Saturday with Siwy and de Villiers competing in the round of 32 in singles. The `Dogs will also open up doubles play with Leiby/Mollinedo competing in the round of 64 and de Villiers/Zapletal competing in the round of 32.
"It will be good to see how we compete in doubles tomorrow," Udwadia said. "There is good competition in the doubles field, and we will be able to gain valuable experience."
The singles consolation bracket will begin play Saturday.
For complete draws and results visit: 2008 ITA Northern Cal Championships
ITA Northern Cal Championship
Berkeley, Calif.
Oct. 17-21
Singles Round of 128
Taylor Leiby (Fresno State) def. Kyle Erickson (Portland) 6-2, 7-5
Lucas Tirelli (St. Mary's) def. Siddharth Alapati (Fresno State) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
Flavio Mollinedo (Fresno State) def. Sherif Hamdy (St. Mary's) 7-6(3), 6-3
Remi Boutillier (Fresno State) def. Gerald Ellison (St. Mary's) 6-4, 6-3
Kenzo Hirakawa-Wong (Santa Clara) def. Tejesvi Veerepalli (17) (Fresno State) 5-5 (ret.)
Singles Round of 64
Rikus de Villiers (9) (Fresno State) def. Chris Aria (UC Davis) 6-0, 6-2
Artem Gramma (Pacific) def. No. 85 Mirko Zapletal (7) (Fresno State) 6-2, 6-3
No. 48 Rudolf Siwy (2) (Fresno State) def. Jeff Zeller (Stanford) 6-4, 6-1
Kalim Stewart (4) (Cal)def. Taylor Leiby (Fresno State) 6-1, 6-2
Pedro Zerbini (9) (Cal) def. Flavio Mollinedo (Fresno State) 6-4, 6-3
Thai Tu (17) (Cal) def. Remi Boutillier (Fresno State) 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-4
"Join the State - Fresno State!"- The Fresno State women's tennis team is competing in the ITA Northwest Regional in Palo Alto, Calif. Oct 17-20, while the men's tennis team is competing in the ITA Northern Cal Regional in Berkeley, Calif. Oct 17-21. For updates and results visit GoBulldogs.com.
Players Mentioned
