Keiser men's tennis wrapped up a strong first day of tennis at the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia with both men's players advancing to the winners bracket. The men went 2-0 in singles play and 1-0 in doubles on the day.
Soufiane El Mesbahi started the day with a dominant win over previously No. 1 ranked Alex Gurmendi of Georgia Gwinnett, 6-4, 6-1. On the other side of the bracket,
Shaheed Alam is off to a good start after defeating Vaclav Schneider of William Woods, 7-6(5), 6-1. Last season, it was Alam who faced Gurmendi in the first round, and El Mesbahi took on a player from Tennessee Wesleyan in the second round. With the roles reversed, the results remained to be seen ahead of tomorrow's matches. In the afternoon, the pair grouped for a 4-6, 7-5, 10-4 win over No. 3 Max Mueller and Felix Veyhle.
Director of Tennis
Daniel Finn said, "Solid day by the boys. Happy with Souf and his performance today. He played some really focused tennis the entire match in singles and deserved that one. It definitely sets the tone for him and combined with Shaheed's win, going into a tough match tomorrow as well. All of the matches in this event are tough, as you are competing against the best players in the country. As for doubles, that was all Coach Mac and the boys showing grit and determination and ultimately refusing to lose. They did a great job of coming back in the second set and taking the match. I thought early on in the match they looked a little passive, and were almost hoping to get the match given to them, but they and Mac made some adjustments, got really aggressive late in the match, and it showed in the scores when the boys started to dominate late. In the end, we're happy to get such a dominant performance today out of the guys but as always, it's just day one of the tournament, and getting through today is great, but we have to refocus and start adjusting and planning for an even tougher day tomorrow."
Shaheed Alam
Rd. 16: Def. Vaclav Schneider (7-6(5), 6-1)
QF: Vs. (1) Nicolas Cortes (TWU)
Soufiane El Mesbahi
Rd. 16: Def. (2) Alex Gurmendi (GGC) (6-4, 6-1)
QF: Vs. Malik Omarkhanov (UNOH)
Alam/El Mesbahi
Rd. 16: Def. (3) Mueller/Veyhle (Westcliff) (4-6, 7-5, 10-4)
QF: Vs. Omcikus/Ebenriter (MoBap)
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