Friday, September 28, 2012

The Valparaiso men's tennis team took wins in 18 of its 20 matches on Friday afternoon as the Crusaders hosted day one of the Valparaiso Invitational at the Valpo Tennis Complex.

Both of Valpo's representatives in Flight A of singles won a pair of matches in straight sets to move into the flight's semifinals. Freshman Michael Savaglio (Kenosha, Wis./Mary D. Bradford) moved into the semis by defeating Ben Yue of Western Illinois (6-1, 6-2) and Camilo Giraldo of Olivet Nazarene (6-1, 7-5). Meanwhile, junior Eric Honert (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) downed Jon Kaasa of Goshen (6-4, 6-2) and Patrick Hammers of Western Illinois (6-2, 6-0).

In Flight B of singles action, two of the Crusaders' three entrants moved into the semifinals. Freshman Lucas Waak (Manitowoc, Wis./Roncalli) downed Olivet Nazarene's Addison Newell (6-1, 6-1) before sweeping Roosevelt's Manny Eudave (6-0, 6-0). Fellow rookie Michael Baiocchi (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) took down Roosevelt's Brett Hoffman (6-0, 6-0) and Chicago State's Rashley Yeremia (6-2, 6-4). Sophomore Egan Hart (Raleigh, N.C./Ravenscroft) also started off the tournament with a win, defeating Adam Weaver of Goshen (6-2, 6-4), but fell in his second match to Tim Worley of Western Illinois (7-6, 7-6).

Valpo also saw two of its three entries in Flight C of singles advance to the semifinals. Freshman Daniel Oakes (Elburn, Ill./Saint Charles North) opened play with a win over Roosevelt's John Imperato (6-0, 6-1) before out-lasting Western Illinois' Andrew Yopp (6-4, 4-6, 10-5). Freshman Brian Hickey (Western Springs, Ill./Fenwick) dropped just four sets on the day in beating Daniel Buschert of Goshen (6-2, 6-1) and Seth Perry of Olivet Nazarene (6-1, 6-0). Freshman Daniel Etman (Highland Park, Ill./K12 International Academy) defeated Olivet Nazarene's Tim Thomas (6-2, 6-3) before dropping a 7-6, 6-2 decision to Brandon Meeker of Western Illinois.

All four of Valpo's double squads earned victories on Friday as well, as one round of doubles play closed the day's action. In flight A, Honert and Waak teamed up for an 8-1 win over Matt Kuntzi and Manny Eudave of Roosevelt. In flight B, Baiocchi and Oakes earned an 8-3 victory over Vasanth Palanisamy and Krishnan Ganesan of Goshen. In flight C, Hart and Savaglio teamed to win 8-1 over Jordan Lingle and Mat Bowden of Olivet Nazarene, while Hickey and Etman posted an 8-0 win over Dan White and Rory Stewart of Roosevelt.

The final day of the Valparaiso Invitational begins Saturday morning at 9 a.m. with the last two rounds of doubles play. The final two rounds of singles action will follow from the Valpo Tennis Complex.