University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Six Gophers Reach Singles Round of 32; Two Doubles Pairings Advance to Quarterfinals
10/25/2019 8:28:00 PM | Men's Tennis
NORMAN, Okla. -- The second day of competition for the Gophers at the 2019 ITA Central Region Championships in Norman, Okla. proved to be another impressive performance across the board for the team. The Maroon & Gold ended the day with a singles record of 6-2 and a doubles record of 2-1.
DOUBLES PLAY
Early Friday morning, three pairs of Gophers looked to punch their ticket into the quarterfinals of the ITA Central Region doubles tournament. The lone pairing of underclassmen consisting of sophomore Sebastian Vile and freshman Daniel Martin, was tasked with battling it out with Daniel Siddall and Ezequiel Santalla of Tulsa. Despite a solid performance from the Gopher duo yesterday, they just weren't able to overcome the pair from Tulsa, as the underclassmen were defeated by a score of 8-4.
With an 8 a.m. start time to their match, the longtime Gopher duo of senior Eli Ogilvy and junior Jackson Allen had a heavy task at hand in taking down the third seeded doubles pairing at the ITA Central Regional, Max Stewart and Mason Beiler of the University of Oklahoma. In a tightly contested match, it was the Gopher tandem that came out on top with the upset, defeating the 3-seed with a final score of 8-6.
While the previous two matches went on, the Maroon & Gold wearing duo of junior Vlad Lobak and freshman Siim Troost were in a barn burner of a match against Nebraska's Victor Moreno Lozano and William Gleason. In a match that was settled via tiebreaker, the pair of Gophers were able to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals of the doubles bracket, winning by a score of 8-7 (4).
SINGLES PLAY
To start the day off for the Gophers in singles play, freshman Daniel Martin matched up against Ezequiel Santalla of the University of Tulsa. It was Santalla who would come out on top, defeating Martin 6-0, 6-1, ending what was an impressive start to Martin's young Gopher career in Norman.
Not long after Martin's defeat, Gophers upperclassmen Vlad Lobak and Eli Ogilvy both had their first singles matches of the tournament, following their first round byes on day one. Lobak, who was given the 12-seed in the singles bracket of the tournament, made quick work of his opponent Morgan Lohan of Iowa by winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-0. Senior Eli Ogilvy also captured a win in his match against Drake's David Nyman, beating him by a score of 6-2, 7-5.
The Gophers continued to play lights out in singles play, as senior Stefan Milicevic, freshman Siim Troost, and junior Jackson Allen all won their opening matches of the tournament and advanced to the Round of 32. Milicevic was able to secure a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Oral Roberts' Andre Russo, Siim Troost took down fellow freshman and Big Ten opponent in Shunya Maruyama of Nebraska 6-4, 6-1, and finally Jackson Allen took down Missouri-Kansas City sophomore Brian King by a score of 6-0, 6-2.
The final two Gophers to play on day two were freshman Bodin Zarkovic and sophomore Sebastian Vile. Coming off of his first career singles win yesterday, Zarkovic was looking to carry his momentum into a tough match against the 2-seed of the singles bracket, Kareem Allaf from the University of Iowa. Despite a great fight by Zarkovic, it was Allaf that advanced to Saturday, winning by a score of 6-1, 6-4. As for Sebastain Vile, the Gopher sophomore was set to face Drake's Barny Thorold for a spot in the Round of 32. In the lone three set match for the Gophers on the day, Vile came out victorious by a score of 6-2, 1-6, 6-4, becoming the sixth Gopher to secure his spot in the Round of 32 tomorrow.
Notable:
The Gophers are one of only two schools in this year's tournament to feature two doubles teams in the quarterfinals, with the other school being the University of Iowa. Additionally, the Gophers have six players moving on in the singles bracket to the Round of 32, which is the most for the Maroon & Gold since 2014.
Quotable:
"Really fun to watch our team compete for the first time this year," head coach Geoff Young said. "We will need to continue to play very aggressive if we want to keep going in this tournament."
Up Next:
Due to rain in Norman, the Round of 32 in singles play has been pushed back until tomorrow morning, starting at 8 a.m. Following its conclusion, the Round of 16 for singles will take place, and then Saturday will conclude with the quarterfinals of doubles play.