|
SMU at ITA, Midwest Invite Sept. 30-Oct. 1 |
 at ITA, Midwest Invite |
Cardinals' Stevenson reaches fourth round of Wilson/ITA regional
ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's tenins team didn't get off to quite the flying start coach Jeff Halberg was hoping for at the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championship and the Midwest Open.
Unless, of course, your name is Tyler Stevenson (Neenah, Wis.).
Stevenson, an All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference performer at No. 1 singles a year ago, entered the regional seeded No. 14 and earned a first-round bye. In the second round against Mike Burdakin of Gustvaus, the Cardinal senior dropped the opening set 7-5, but came roaring back to win the match 6-4, 10-7.
It was more of the same in the third round, as Stevenson again lost the first set, 6-1 against Carleton's Kartheek Koneru, only to rebound with wins of 6-3 and 15-13. Stevenson fell 6-4 in the first set of his fourth-round match against Gustavus' Jesse Brauer, but this time, the SMU senior had run out of lale-match heroics, as Brauer eliminated Stevenson 6-1.
GAC's Burdakin got a bit of revenge vs. Stevenson in doubles, as he teamed with fellow Gustie Charle Paukert to beat Stevenson and Thomas Vollman (Oak Park, Ill.) 9-8.
SMU's other six participants didn't fare quite as well as their senior leader, as they all dropped their opening singles matches. Thomas Vollman (Oak Park, Ill.) dropped a straight-set match in the ITA regional, while Tony Miller (Rochester, Minn.), Steve Clements (La Crosse, Wis.), Adam Solseth (Shakopee, Minn.), Dan Fahey (Brookfield, Ill.) and Brian Robinson (Cannon Falls, Minn.) all coming up empty in the Midwest Open.
Vollman was no match for Cornell's Tom Jennings, falling in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. Vollman and Stevenson also teamed up in the ITA doubles competition, with those results still to come.
In the Midwest Open, Clements lost a heartbreaking opening-round match, falling to Mitch Peerbolte of Simpson 2-6, 7-6, 13-11. Simpson's Martin Zivadinovic added a 6-4, 6-2 win over Fahey, while UW-La Crosse's John Hildebrandt topped Miller 6-4, 6-1, Carleton's Jordan Hughes dropped Robinson 6-1, 6-4, and Ashok Jethwa of Gustavus added a 6-1, 6-0 win over Solseth. Solseth, Miller and Clements also lost their consolation match, with Solseth falling 8-6, while Miller was an 8-2 loser and Clements fell 8-3.
In doubles, the Cardinals' teams of Robinson-Solseth and Clements-Miller were both beaten 8-6 in the opening round.
The Wilson/ITA Men's Division III Championships at Gustavus featured the top 20 schools in the region. The singles and doubles champions from this weekend's tournament advance to the Oct. 13-16 Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Small College Championships at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.