Men's Tennis Off To Strong Start At EWU Fall Classic

Courtesy: Gonzaga Athletics

Release: 09/21/2012

Day One Results

CHENEY, Wash. - Gonzaga University men's tennis head coach Peter MacDonald said before the EWU Fall Classic that if his team executed, they would find success.

"It was a great first day for us," MacDonald said. "Everyone had a victory in the first round and it is a sign that we did execute."

The tournament was broken down into two flights, a red and a white.

In the red flight, each Bulldog picked up a victory. No. 1 overall seed in the bracket sophomore Naval Alvaro had a first round bye but he followed that up with a win over Eastern Washington University's Kyle Koetie.

Both Gonzaga seniors won their matches as well. No. 3 seed Levin Guillermo beat Portland State University's Lukas Kortus 6-0, 6-2 in the round of 16 and No. 8 seed Olivier Jamin beat Zach Kosanke from Seattle University in the opening round followed by a 6-2, 7-5 round of 16 victory over Abbinav Mishra from Portland State.

The Zag freshmen also advanced to the quarterfinals with Vicente Varas beating Portland State's Brent Wheeler 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and beating No. 5 seeded Joseph Cohen from Eastern Washington 6-2, 6-1. Hayden Smith was just as impressive by defeating Portland State's Alex Mark 6-2, 6-2 followed by a victory over No. 4 seed Andrew Warren from the University of Montana.

"I was pleased with both of our young guys," MacDonald said. "Vicente gutted out a tight match to pick up his first win and Hayden was solid all day. Both beat a top seeded opponent and will give them confidence for the rest of the weekend

The two freshmen will face each other Saturday at 11 a.m.

Other Bulldogs picking up wins in the red flight were Pablo Mosquera Perez defeating Mike Facey 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 from Montana and Vladimir Mijatovic defeating No. 6 seed Mikolai Caruk.

In the white flight, the Zags had two players reach the quarterfinals. No. 5 seed Jack Schoebel had an opening round bye and defeated Eastern Washington's Stefan Farrar 6-3, 6-2 to advance. Freshman Joey Brandy, as the No. 2 seed, had an opening bye before beating Seattle's Kyle Rapo 6-3, 6-4.

"We have a lot of guys in the quarterfinals," MacDonald said. "That is not something you see that often and it is a sign of how much talent we have this year. We have a tough road ahead for the rest of this weekend though."

Junior Muzeen Ismath won his first round match over Portland State's Will Cochrane 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. He would fall in the round of 16 to Montana's Eric Braun 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

In doubles, the Bulldogs won both of their matches. The pairing of Schoebel and Jamin defeated Caruk and Drost from Montana 8-6. Mosquera and Ismath won their match 8-6.

"Both doubles looked good," MacDonald said. "Each win will build confidence and we have a big day tomorrow to evaluate our pairings and to get a feel for where we are."

Gonzaga returns back to action Saturday at the EWU Fall Classic at 9 a.m.