Quinnipiac University
University of Connecticut
QU Men’s Tennis has Three Reach Singles Semifinals in Day Two at UConn Invitational
9/17/2016 11:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Storrs, Conn. – After having a successful day one in doubles competition on Friday, Quinnipiac men's tennis followed with a strong performance in singles competition Saturday afternoon on day two of the UConn Invitational, with three freshman advancing to the semifinals in their respective flights.
Axel Stern (Tustin, California), Austin Yannone (Severna Park, Maryland) and Patrick Cachapero (Loma Linda, California) all earned their first career singles victories Saturday afternoon, while also advancing to the semifinals in their respective flights.
The day began in the Flight "A" bracket, where sophomore Freddie Zaretsky (Fair Lawn, New Jersey) earned the Bobcats first win of the day with a victory over Bryant's Artur Jakubowski, 6-1 in straight sets. However, Zaretsky's run didn't last as he lost in the next round to UConn's Parker Goldstein, 6-4 and 1-0 in straight sets.
On the other side of the the Flight "A" singles bracket, senior Kei Ezaka (Ojai, California) suffered a first round loss to Boston University's Lucas Bombonatti. Ezaka won the first set 6-0, but couldn't keep the momentum rolling, losing the next two sets 6-2 and 10-1. Ezaka was able to bounce back by winning his only consolation match of the day over Sacred Heart's Derek Chapman.
Junior Julian Rozenstein (Marlboro, New Jersey) was also on the other side of the Flight "A" bracket. Rozenstein won his first match over Merrimack's Mikhail Belov, 6-4 and 6-2 in straight sets. Rozenstein lost in the next round though, to UConn's Justin Warren. Warren took the first set 6-4 but Rozenstein battled to take the second 6-1. But it was not enough as Warren took the third, 11-9.
In the Flight "B" bracket, Stern cruised to a round of 16 victory over Alex Slobin of Merrimack, 6-1 and 6-0. Stern followed that strong performance with another one after defeating UConn's Christopher Toner, 7-6 and 6-1 in straight sets.
In the Flight "C" bracket for singles competition, senior Ryoma Haraguchi (New York, New York) battled for a hard-earned win over UConn's Brady Flanagan. Haraguchi lost the first set 0-6, but came back to win the match 6-1 then 10-8. However, Haraguchi fell in the following round to Jake De Vries from Boston University. Haraguchi started off strong winning the first set 7-6, but lost the following sets 6-2 and 10-3. However, Haraguchi redeemed himself by advancing to the semifinals in the Flight "C" consolation bracket.
On the other side of the Flight "C" bracket, Yannone defeated Bentley's Brett Gilman, 7-5 and 6-3.= in straight sets. The freshman showed some veteran poise in the quarterfinals, defeating Bryant's Luke Lorenz. Lorenz made it tough on Yannone, taking the first set 6-2, but Yannone battled back winning the next two sets 6-3 and 10-7 to reach the semifinals.
In the Flight "D" bracket, freshman Jackson Koke (Calgary, Alberta) earned his first career singles victory with a win over Sacred Heart's Matthew Surprenant. Koke won the first set 6-2 but dropped the second 4-6. Koke was able to battle back however, and win the final set 10-4. Koke dropped his next match against Bryant's John Templeman, but he didn't go down easily. Koke won the first set 6-3, but lost the next set 3-6 and battled in the final set to a score of 15-13. Koke was able to earn another win though, after winning his first consolation match against Bentley's Nicholas Hatcher, 8-4.
On the other side of the bracket, Cachapero had a bye in the round of 16, automatically advancing him to the quarterfinals. Cachapero had to battle to earn his spot in the semifinals, but pulled through after beating Bryant's Scott Plutt. Cachapero won the first set 6-4 but dropped the following set 3-6. However, Cachapero was resilient and earned a hard-fought victory 12-10 victory in the final set.
The Quinnipiac men's tennis team returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 18 with day three of the UConn Invitational as singles play concludes at 9 A.M.
Flight "A" Singles:
Zaretsky (QU) def. Jakubowski (Bryant): 6-1, 6-1
Goldstein (UConn) def. Zaretsky (QU): 6-4, 1-0 ret
Rozenstein (QU) def. Belov (Merrimack): 6-4, 6-2
Warren (UConn) def. Rozenstein (QU): 6-4, 1-6, 11-9
Flight "B" Singles:
Stern (QU) def. Sloben (Merrimack): 6-1, 6-0
Stern (QU) def. Toner (UConn): 7-6, 6-1
Flight "C" Singles:
Haraguchi (QU) def. Flanagan (UConn): 0-6, 6-1, 10-8
De Vries (Sacred Heart) def. Haraguchi (QU): 6-7, 6-2, 10-3
Yannone (QU) def. Gilman (Bentley): 7-5, 6-3
Yannone (QU) def. Lorenz (Bryant): 2-6, 6-3, 10-7
Flight "D" Singles:
Koke (QU) def. Surprenant (Sacred Heart): 6-2, 4-6, 10-4
Templeman (Bryant) def. Koke (QU): 3-6, 6-3, 15-13
Cachapero (QU) def. Plutt (Bryant): 6-4, 3-6, 12-10
Consolation "A" Singles:
Ezaka (QU) def. Chapman (Sacred Heart)
Consolation "C" Singles:
Haraguchi (QU) def. Einstoss (Sacred Heart)
Consolation "D" Singles:
Koke (QU) def. Hatcher (Bentley): 8-4
Players Mentioned
