The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team had a productive Friday at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Three individuals posted main draw singles wins, while three doubles duos also collected victories. 

How It Happened

• In the first round of main draw singles, senior Charlie Emhardt (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) edged Michigan State’s Jasper Koenen in the first set 7-6 before closing out the win in Set 2 6-3.
• Senior Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill. / Niles North) came from behind to knock off Michigan State’s Brett Forman 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in first round main draw singles.
• Senior Jeffrey Schorsch (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg) won by retirement over Green Bay’s Florian Kraenzler in the first round of main draw singles.
• In the first round of doubles play, senior Kyle Dunn (Fond du Lac, Wis. / Fond du Lac) and junior Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio / Poland) teamed up to edge out Marquette’s Alvaro Verdu and Nick Dykema 8-6.
• Freshmen Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill. / Rockford Christian) and Daniel Langston (Ponca City, Okla. / Ponca City) also notched a first-round doubles triumph for the Crusaders, getting the better of UIC’s Marcelo Dib and Christian San Andres 8-4.
• In addition, sophomore Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) and Bacalla joined forces for an 8-2 doubles win over DePaul’s Fran Tonejc and Chris Casati.
• Kissell took the opening set 6-3 from Marquette’s Alvaro Verdu in the first round of main draw singles, but then Verdu battled back with a 7-6 win in Set 2 and a 7-5 victory in Set 3 to claim a dramatic victory.
• Dunn went 2-0 on Thursday in qualifying singles and needed one more victory to advance to the main draw, but he dropped his third-round qualifying match 6-4, 6-3 on Friday morning against Notre Dame’s Brendon Kempin.
• Freshman Franklin Brozovich (Fort Gratiot, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) and redshirt freshman Brian Pecyna (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) fell 8-0 to Wisconsin’s Josef Dodridge and Chema Carranza in first-round doubles play.

Next Up

The second round of main draw singles will take place on Saturday. Emhardt will clash with Ohio State’s Martin Joyce, Bacalla will square off with Marquette’s Luke Smrek and Schorsch will lock horns with Wisconsin’s John Zordani. Doubles competition will also continue with the second round on Saturday.