Quinnipiac University
University of Connecticut
QU Men’s Tennis Dominates in Doubles on Day One of the UConn Invitational
9/17/2016 2:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Storrs, Conn. – Quinnipiac men's tennis senior Kei Ezaka (Ojai, California) teamed up with junior Julian Rozenstein (Marlboro, New Jersey) to win the Flight "A" doubles championship on the first day of competition at the UConn Invitational Friday afternoon. They were one of the two Bobcat doubles team to win a doubles championship on the day.
Freshman Patrick Cachapero (Loma Linda, California) and senior Ryoma Haraguchi (New York, New York) teamed up to win the Flight "B" championship at the invitational. Two other Bobcat doubles teams were able to compete into the semifinals in their respective Flight brackets, but fell before reaching the championship round.
Ezaka and Rozenstein got the day started in the Flight "A" matchups. The group received a bye in the round of 16 and faced off against Artur Jakubowski and Luke Lorenz of Bryant in the quarterfinals, defeating them 6-4. Ezaka and Rozenstein were met by Brendan McCarthy and George Samander of Bentley in the semifinals, but cruised past them 6-1.
While Ezaka and Rozenstein awaited their opponent in the finals, on the other side of the Flight "A" bracket, Bobcats freshman Axel Stern (Tustin, California) and sophomore Freddie Zaretsky (Fair Lawn, New Jersey) teamed up for competition. Stern and Zaretsky competed against Jeff Chan and Jake De Vries of Boston University in the round of 16, defeating the Terriers 6-4. It was Stern's first career match win. In the quarterfinals, Stern and Zaretsky defeated the Bryant duo of Michael Plutt and Guido Argentini 7-5, leaving one more match to win for a chance to compete against their Bobcat teammates in the championship.
However, Stern and Zaretsky were unable to muster out a win, falling to the host UConn duo of Hank Hill and Justin Warren 6-4 in the the semifinals. Ezaka and Rozenstein almost fell to Hill and Warren as well in the championship, but the duo was able to squeak by a win in tiebreakers 7-6, winning the Flight "A" doubles championship.
Cachapero and Haraguchi got off to a great start in the round of 16 in the Flight "B" bracket, by defeating the Boston University duo of Miguel Cepeda and Marc Sable, 6-3. It was also Cachapero's first career match win. Cachapero and Haraguchi kept it rolling when they faced off against UConn's Jonathan Edwards and Evan Powell, defeating the Huskies 7-5 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Cachapero and Haraguchi defeated the Bryant duo of Corey DiPaola and John Templeman, 6-3.
While Cachapero and Haraguchi waited in the finals, their teammates Jackson Koke (Calgary, Alberta) and Austin Yannone (Sevema Park, Maryland) started competition on the other side of the bracket. The freshman duo earned a bye in the round of 16, but defeated Jacob Appleton and Parker Goldstein of UConn 7-5 in the quarterfinals, earning the Bobcat duo their first ever career match win. However, Koke and Yannone couldn't keep the momentum rolling, as they lost in the semifinals to Michael Fuca and Brett Gilman of Bentley, 7-5.
Cachapero and Haraguchi would avenge the loss their teammates suffered, by beating Fuca and Gilman 6-3 to win the Flight "B" doubles championship.
The Quinnipiac men's tennis team returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 17 with day two of the UConn Invitational as singles play begins at 9 A.M. and runs through Sunday afternoon.
Flight "A" Doubles:
Stern/Zaretsky (QU) def. Chan/De Vries (Boston University): 6-4
Stern/Zaretsky (QU) def. Argentini/Plutt (Bryant): 7-5
Hill/Warren (UConn) def. Stern/Zaretsky (QU): 6-4
Ezaka/Rozenstein def. Jakubowski/Lorenz (Bryant): 6-4
Ezaka/Rozenstein def. McCarthy/Samander (Bentley): 6-1
Ezaka/Rozenstein def. Hill/Warren (UConn): 7-6 (5)
Flight "B" Doubles:
Koke/Yannone def. Appleton/Goldstein (UConn): 7-5
Fuca/Gilman def. Koke/Yannone (7-5)
Cachapero/Haraguchi def. Cepeda/Sable (Boston University): 6-3
Cachapero/Haraguchi def. Edwards/Powell (UConn) 7-5
Cachapero/Haraguchi def. DiPaola/Templeman (Bryant): 6-3
Cachapero/Haraguchi def. Fuca/Gilman (Bentley) 6-3
Players Mentioned
