The Screaming Eagles men’s tennis team took away a combined 8-9 record in the singles competition and a 2-4 record in the doubles competition during the ITA Midwest Regional hosted by Grand Valley State University over the weekend.
In the doubles competition, junior combination Ilia Karelin (Ekaterinburg, Russia) and Andrew Dones(Georgetown, Indiana) rebounded from a first round 8-5 defeat to advance to the semifinals of the consolation bracket. Karelin and Dones had advanced through the consolation to the quarterfinals with a 9-8 victory on a 7-2 tiebreaker.
The second duo of freshman Spencer Blandford (Louisville, Kentucky) and senior Samuel Kiladejo(London, England) also finished with a 1-2 record, falling in the opening round 8-5, before taking an 8-4 decision in the consolation round and bowing out in the consolation quarterfinals, 8-5.
The singles bracket for the Eagles was led by Dones, who posted a 4-2 record during the weekend. Dones garnered four-straight victories in the consolation bracket en route to the championship match where he was defeated 6-2, 6-1.
Karelin also made waves in the Singles A consolation bracket after a first round loss. Karelin went on to win three-straight matches by scores of 6-2, 7-6 in the first match, 6-4, 6-1 in the second, and advancing to the championship game by default before eventually falling in the championship match 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), and 10-6.
The Eagles will be back on the court October 7 at the USI Tennis Courts for USI Alumni Tournament in Evansville.
