University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Headline 21st Aquatennial
7/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
The University of Minnesota had a combination of 17 former and current Gopher student-athletes who competed at the 21st Aquatennial Tennis Classic this past week. The annual summer tournament was held at Canadian Pacific Plaza in Minneapolis, Minn.
Women
Current senior Maja Vujic took home the championship in the women's final. She won her first match 6-3, 6-1 and then went on to defeat the No. 2 seed, Diana Bukajeva, 6-4, 2-6, 1-0(9). The final was a Gopher showdown as Vujic defeated teammate Caitlyn Merzbacher 7-5, 5-7, 1-0(6).
Merzbacher, a sophomore, won her first match 6-1, 6-4 and then upset the No. 1 seeded Alexis Nelson 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals before falling to Vujic in the finals.
Vujic teamed up with former Gopher Aria Lambert in the women's doubles. The duo had a first round bye but fell in the semifinals to former Gophers Kelsey Frechette and Niltooli Wilkins 6-4, 6-2. Frechette and Wilkins ended up winning the women's doubles finals 7-5, 7-6(2).
Men
Two former Gophers, Jeffrey Adolf and Nicholas Edlefsen, faced off in the quarterfinals of the men's singles. Edlefsen ended up defeating Adolf 6-4, 6-3 before falling to the No. 1 seed and repeating champion, Tony Larson, 6-4, 2-6, 1-0(8).
The quarterfinals saw another former Gopher battle when Tobias Wernet outdueled Michael Sicora 6-0, 6-1. Wernet fell in the semifinals to Tim Larson 6-4, 2-6, 1-0(8).
The men's doubles featured former Gophers in the finals as Wernet teamed up with Julian Dehn to defeat Andres Osorio and Sion Wilkins 6-1, 6-3. Dehn and Wernet won their first match 6-4, 6-2 and then won 7-6(4), 6-1 in the semifinals.
Osorio and Wilkins were the No. 1 seed in the men's doubles. They won their first match 6-3, 6-0 and defeated their opponents 6-3, 7-6(4) in the semifinals before falling in the finals.
Former Gopher Harsh Mankad teamed up with Wyatt McCoy to win their first match 6-3, 7-6(9). The No. 2 seeded duo ended up falling to Dehn and Wernet in the semifinals.
Baseline Tennis Center employee Kevin Whipple teamed up with Nick Crossley to win their first match 6-1, 6-0 before falling to Osorio and Wilkins.
Gophers' alumni Jack Hamburg and Reven Stephens fell in the quarterfinals to Whipple and Crossley.
Mixed Doubles
Whipple ended up winning the mixed doubles finals with Nicole Copeland. The two won their first match over Lambert and Edward Scenda 3-6, 6-2, 1-0(6) and won by scores of 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals. The pair defeated Niltooli and Nazhone Wilkins 2-6, 7-6(6), 1-0(6) in the finals.
The Wilkins duo won 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals and then defeated Adolf and Frechette 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals before falling to Copeland and Whipple.
Adolf and Frechette won their first match 6-7(3), 6-1, 1-0(5) before falling to the Wilkins duo.
Director of Baseline Tennis Center John Pratt teamed up with former Gopher Natalia Pintusava as the No. 2 seed. The pair fell 4-6, 6-3, 1-0(2) in the quarterfinals.
