Nicolas claims Flight D championship to highlight Tech's play at Purdue Invitational
Freshman Guille Nicolas won the Flight D singles championships and all four Golden Eagles competing claimed at least one victory over the weekend at the Purdue Invitational.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Tennessee Tech freshman Guille Nicoolas rolled through the Flight D singles draw to capture the championship, highlighting play for the Golden Eagle tennis team over the weekend at the Purdue Invitational.
Nicolas, a newcomer to the Golden Eagle roster from Madrid, Spain, won all four of his matches to win the title, and all four Tech players posted at least one win during weekend play.
Nicolas opened the tournament with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Andrea Morlet of Indianapolis University on Friday. He followed with a straight set, 6-4, 6-1 win over Andrew Connolly of Wright State, then advanced to the flight's championship match with a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Mason Dragos of Butler.
He claimed the title with exactly the same scores over Simon Jayaram of Dayton to finish 4-0.
In the Flight C singles bracket, sophomore Carlos Tajes took Renan Hanayama of Purdue to three sets before Hanayama, playing on his home court, earned a 5-2, 3-6, 6-2 win. Tajes bounced back to defeat Dominik Sochurek of Purdue, 6-1, 7-6 (7) to finish with a 1-1 mark.
Jorge Alonzo had the same results in the Flight D singles draw, posting a 1-1 record. Alonzo won the first set in his battle with Butler's Ari Gerstein, 7-6 (3), but fell in the next two, 7-5, 6-4. He needed a third-set tiebreaker to post a win over Sochurek, winning 3-6, 6-2, 10-8.
Junior Guerrero went 2-1 in singles play, working in the Flight E draw. He fell to Reid Teatsorth of Toledo, 6-1, 6-4 to start play Friday, before coming back to earn a hard-fought, 1-6, 6-2, 10-7 tiebreaker victory over Matt Helm of Ball State. Guerrero was credited with a walkover victory against Mario Noboa of Chicago State.
In Flight A doubles action, Alfonzo and Nicolas lost twice before rebounding with a win to go 1-2 for the weekend. First up it was an 8-3 loss to Dragos and Gerstein of Butler. Next, the Tech duo battled Brandon Lancaster and Brian Tsao of Louisville before yielding an 8-4 decision. The Golden Eagle pair claimed an 8-4 win over David Beasley and Jose Calero of IUPUI for their final flourish.
The Golden Eagle Flight B doubles pair of Tajes and Guerrero went 0-2, losing to Gabriel Niculescu and Gonzalo Martinez of Chicago State, 8-6, before falling in a heartbreaker, 9-8 (4) to Jac Newis and Marcus Nalley of IUPUI.
The next action on the Tech schedule is the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., beginning next weekend.
