Wallace State men’s tennis opens NJCAA national tournament with unbeaten Day 1
PLANO, Texas — Wallace State men's tennis opened the NJCAA Division II National Championship with a perfect day Tuesday at Collin College, winning all six singles matches and all three doubles matches.
The Lions went 9-0 on the opening day, with every victory coming in straight sets.
Angel Gautier, the No. 3 seed in Flight 1 singles, opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Marshawn Gallego. Alexander Grube Andersen, the No. 2 seed in Flight 2, also won 6-0, 6-0, defeating Juna Manuel Cifuentes.
Jean Badenhorst, seeded No. 4 in Flight 3, defeated Edward Dulin 6-2, 6-2, while Francois Van Wyk, the No. 2 seed in Flight 4, advanced with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Robert Cole Beard.
Wallace State's two No. 1 singles seeds also moved on. Luka Uzelac defeated Diego Sasamoto Pareja 6-0, 6-3 in Flight 5, while Tom Kopf defeated George Gould 6-0, 6-0 in Flight 6.
The Lions continued their strong start in doubles play.
In Flight 1 doubles, Gautier and Grube Andersen, seeded No. 3, defeated Juan Luca Cividini and Manan Kumar 6-2, 6-4. Badenhorst and Van Wyk, the No. 3 seed in Flight 2, defeated Gavin Robles and Ned Simpson 6-2, 6-2. Kopf and Matias Vargas, the No. 1 seed in Flight 3, defeated Pablo Galan and Nathan Popov 6-0, 6-1.
Wallace State will return to the court Wednesday with all six singles entries and all three doubles teams still alive in the championship brackets.
Wednesday schedule
Singles - Round of 16
Flight 1: Angel Gautier [3] vs. Ari Andreopoulos [6], 10:30 a.m.
Flight 2: Alexander Grube Andersen [2] vs. Luke Gardiner [7], 10:30 a.m.
Flight 3: Jean Badenhorst [4] vs. Chi-Wei Wang [5], 10:30 a.m.
Flight 4: Francois Van Wyk [2] vs. Giulio Benassi [7], noon
Flight 5: Luka Uzelac [1] vs. Fergus Larkin [8], noon
Flight 6: Tom Kopf [1] vs. Brady Holliman [8], noon
Doubles - Round of 8
Flight 1: Angel Gautier/Alexander Grube Andersen [3] vs. Jared Escobar/Daniel Espin [6], 5 p.m.
Flight 2: Jean Badenhorst/Francois Van Wyk [3] vs. Ilian Delalande/Mijael Obregon [6], 5 p.m.
Flight 3: Tom Kopf/Matias Vargas [1] vs. Giulio Benassi/Vicente Rojas [8], 5 p.m.