GREENWOOD, Ind. – The McKendree men's tennis team got off to a strong start here Saturday on the first day of the ITA Midwest Regional Championships hosted by the University of Indianapolis and held at Center Grove High School, Center Grove Middle School, and Clark-Pleasant Middle School.
The Bearcats sent eight players to compete in the three-day event and on Saturday's first day, the eight Bearcat players combined for an 8-7 record in singles and a 4-1 combined record in doubles action.
In the Flight 'A' Main Singles Draw, senior
Leonardo Frederico (Tijucas-Santa Cantrina, Brazil/UniCesumar), who is seeded No. 2, went 2-0 to advance to a Round of 16 match on Sunday. He opened the day with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Ashland's William Rassat, before earning a Round of 32 win over Ferris State's Erik Kovacs (6-1, 6-3). Frederico will face No. 10 seeded Marion Wilken from Drury in a Round 16 match on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
Freshman
Benedek Szombathelyi (Budapest, Hungary/Hunfalvy Janos Bilingual Vocational School) went 2-0 with wins over fourth-seeded Nikolaj Talimaa of UIndy (6-4, 4-6, 12-10) and a Round of 32 win over Rockhurst's Semyon Tsyrenov (6-3, 4-6, 10-5) and will meet Tiffin's Michael Gurtner in Sunday's quarterfinal round at 11 a.m. ET.
Sophomore
Tomas Leston (Buenos Aires, Argentina/San Jose Hermanas Nuestra Senora de Rosario) won his first round match over Drury's Yaroslav Sharyy, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, before falling 5-7 (1-7), 6-3 (7-10) to Tiffin's Ruben Fonga.
The fourth Bearcat that played in the Flight 'A' Draw was junior
Nanase Ebisu (Osaka, Japan/Hawaii Pacific) as he fell in the first round 6-1, 7-5 to Drury's Wilken and then fell 6-4, 6-4 in the consolation round to Lake Superior State's Aaron Osmond.
In the Flight 'B' Singles Draw, the Bearcats had four players competing and three of those four players won their Round of 64 matches, before falling in the Round 32. The fourth player lost in both the first round of the main draw and consolation draw.
Sophomore
Jose Antonio Velasco (Lima, Peru) went 1-1 with a first-round win over William Jewell's Loris Carret (6-4, 6-0), before falling in the Round of 32 to Hillsdale's Aidan Pack (2-6, 3-6).
Sophomore
David Leon Mantilla (Lima, Peru/Colegio Parroquial Santa Rosa de Lima) went 1-1 with a first-round win over Lake Superior State's Maxenca Harmon (6-4, 6-0) and then fell in the Round of 32 with a loss to Hillsdale's Sean Barstow, 5-7, 1-6 (10-12).
Senior
Lorenzo del Biondo (Pescara, Italy/Abraham Baldwin College) went 1-1 with a Round of 64 win over Lake Superior Stare's Raul Velasco Garcia (6-2, 6-2) and then fell in the Round of 32 to Wayne State's Alexander Stage, 6-2, 5-7 (7-10).
The fourth competitor for the Bearcats was senior
Ryan Fung (Miami, Fla./Palmetto Senior) as he lost his Round of 64 match to No. 1 seeded Atte Ehrnrooth from UIndy, 4-6, 0-6 and then suffered a 3-6, 6-1 (6-10) loss in the consolation round of 32 to William Jewell's Gage Foltz.
Meanwhile, in the 'A' Flight Doubles, McKendree's No. 1 team of Frederico and Szombathelyi, who are seeded fifth, won a Round of 32 match 8-5 over UIS' duo of Ivan Esguerra and Sebastian Jonsson and will face Wilken and Tjade Bruns from Drury in the Round of 16 at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Ebisu and del Biondo went 0-1 as they fell in the Round of 32 to Drury's Sylvain Garin-Michaud and Yaroslav Sharyy, 8-5.
Meanwhile in the 'B' Flight Doubles, fourth-seeded Mantilla and Velasco picked up a Round of 32 win over William Jewell's Max Quennery and Max Wheeler, 8-4 to advance to Round of 16 match on Sunday against Purdue Northwest's Luis Alvear and Luca Kirchhoff.
Fung and Leston went 2-0 in the Flight 'C' Doubles Draw and will play in the semifinals on Sunday at 8 a.m. ET against UIndy's No. 1 seeded tandem of Axel Sabourin and David Julia. In Saturday's action, Fung and Leston opened with a Round of 16 win over Ashland's Reid Opel and Benedict Weinborner, 8-1, before picking up a quarterfinal win over Davenport's Marius Pion and Jose Brenes Villarreal, 8-2.
The ITA Midwest Regional Championships continues through Monday, Sept. 19.
