GRAND RAPIDS, MICH- Over the weekend, the University of Indianapolis men's tennis team competed in the ITA Regional Championship at Davenport University. The team fought hard through a draw of 177 players, earning valuable experience playing in-region opponents.
DAY ONE
The draw opened Saturday morning with singles, where the Greyhounds were met with competitive matches from the start. Asier Ayllon Prado stood up to the challenge, where he beat Rudiger Dusselberg of Davenport in straight sets 7-5 6-2 competing in the A draw. Ayllon Prado followed up his first match with another straight set victory over Tiffin's Martin Dreisner, winning 6-2 6-3.
Manu Lanteri only conceded one game in the round of 64 match, defeating Alessandro Parigi of Northwood University 6-0 6-1. Lanteri's round of 32 match was much tougher, as he faced early adversity going down 6-1 in the first set of his match against Felipe Iser from Ferris State. Lanteri dug his heels in for the second set, forcing a 10-point tiebreak after winning the second set 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Lanteri broke Iser's serve twice to win 10-5 and move onto Sunday.
Matthieu Derache, the 2023 singles runner-up in the tournament, made quick work of Purdue Northwest's Dani Chicano Melero in a 6-3 6-1 victory. In the round of 32, Derache dropped his match 3-3 2-6 against Wayne State's George Day. David Simeonov fell to Alex Van Lumich of Purdue Northwest 4-6 0-6 in the opening round.
In the B draw, Tadeo Gaggiofatto defeated GLVC opponent Markos Prentits from Maryville University 6-2 6-1 in the round of 64. Gaggiofatto narrowly fell in the round of 32 to Alejandro Cordero Lopez from Hillsdale in a tiebreak, with the final score of 4-6 6-3 7-10. Lorenzo Di Cursi faced a tough GLVC opponent in McKendree's Bendix Schroeder, where he lost 3-6 2-6. Schroeder went on to the B draw finals.
Pablo Alcon Palacios prevailed over Roosevelt's Ruben Weijer 6-4 6-2 in the C draw, while Nicolas Balzola Izquierdo had a first round bye. Alcon Palacios lost to in-region opponent Grant Hawkins of Findlay 4-6 2-6 in the round of 32, while Balzola Izquierdo faced defeat to Tiffin's Mattia Colli 0-6 2-6.
In the doubles A draw, the team of Lanteri and Simeonov couldn't overcome Findlay's Soh Kuyama and Mattis Veniard, losing 6-8 in the opening round. Derache and Ayllon Prado also lost their opening match in close fashion 6-8 to Grand Valley State's Lucas Gonzales and Victor Lopes. Gonzales and Lopes went on to win the A draw championship.
The team of Gaggiofatto and Di Cursi faced well-oiled competition in the opening round of the B draw, where they lost 3-8 to Denys Zamaraiev and Ignasi Garros from Grand Valley.
DAY TWO
On Sunday morning, Ayllon Prado faced off against Tom Wasner of Wayne State. Ayllon Prado took the first set 7-6, where Ayllon Prado found a break winning 7-4. The second set went Wasner's way, winning 6-2. The final tiebreaker was hard fought by Ayllon Prado, but Wasner got a service break and won 10-6. Lanteri, on the other hand, faced off against GLVC opponent Semyon Tsyrenov of Rockhurst. Lanteri took Tsyrenov to a tiebreak in the first set, but Tsyrenov pulled ahead with a 7-4 score in the tiebreak. Lanteri answered back with a resounding 6-2 second set win. In the final tiebreak, Tsyrenov was able to outlast Lanteri, winning 10-3 to advance to the round of 16. Tsyrenov took this momentum and never looked back, winning his next three matches to be the singles champion in the A draw.
UP NEXT
The fall season for the Hounds' is complete, and they will not compete again until the indoor season begins in 2025. They will christen the new year on the road at the University of Chicago on January 19th.
