BETHLEHEM, Pa.- The Wildcats had a strong and successful weekend at the Lehigh Invitational with many Villanova players having standout performances.
 
The two days of competition kicked off on Saturday October 1 and consisted of four teams playing each other in different rounds of singles and doubles. The teams that competed in the event include Lehigh, Villanova, Fairfield, and Colgate. Opposed to past invites, Lehigh did not follow a bracket format advancing each team of doubles representing a school onto the next round but follows play that would be seen in the regulation season.
 
On day one of the Lehigh Invitational, Villanova faced off against Fairfield in the first-round singles, which resulted in a 5-3 win. The Wildcats took on Lehigh in the first round of doubles and came out with the 3-1 win. And there was only time on day one for round two of singles to be played in which Villanova went up against Colgate and defeated them in a 6-2 win.
 
In the eight-draw matchup, Villanova players went head-to-head against Fairfield players and gained a point towards their team score as would be the case in the typical season (the event was not scored, and the results only go to a players ITA ranking).
 
Of the five Wildcats to prevail over Fairfield they include sophomore Trey Fourticq, freshman Tighe Brunetti, freshman Cooper Gordon, junior Ryan Nguyen, and senior Alex Kim. Fourticq defeated Keean Shah 8-7 in their face off. Brunetti took on Sam Hodges and defeated him in a 8-5 win. Gordon defeated Stefan Mitrovic in a quick 8-3 win. Nguyen went up against Kostas Kollias and took the 8-7 win. Kim defeated Andrew Immink in an 8-7 win.
 
Of the three Wildcats to fall to the Stags, they include senior captains Josh Robinson and Will Gatti as well as senior Justin Suarez. Robinson took on Jonathan Olive-Blanco and fell in a 5-8 loss. Suarez had a close battle with Will O'Brien but ultimately lost in an 8-7 set. Gatti went up against Alex Aguiar and lost 8-3.
 
In doubles round one Villanova went up against Lehigh and made quick work of the matchup. The team of Robinson and junior Noah Winton went head-to-head with Jeremey Learner and Jackson Morash and swiftly won 3-6. The duo of Fourticq and Brunetti took on Wyeth Anzilotti and Jordan Paul and promptly took the 1-6 win. The pair of Suarez and Gordon put up a strong fight against Aristotelis Benzianis and Steven Nazaroff but in the end took the 7-6 loss. The tandem team of sophomore Lukas Choi and junior Anthony Prokurat defeated Michael Bukhalo and Luke Donovan in a 4-6 win.
 
In singles round two, Villanova faced off against Colgate and took a 6-2 win. Of the two Wildcats who fell to Raiders they include Robinson and Suarez. Robinson faced Max Litton and took a 3-8 loss to their number one player. Suarez was defeated by Ben Graham in the fourth spot in a close 5-8 battle. All the rest of the Villanova team were victorious in their matchups.
 
Of the Wildcats who defeated their opponents they include Fourticq, Brunetti, Gordon, Nguyen, Choi, and Kim. Fourticq took on Jack Selati and took an 8-5 win. Brunetti was victorious over Aidan Lee with a swift 8-2 win. Gordon took an 8-5 victory over Benito Vlassis. Nguyen had a clean 8-3 triumph over Josh Isreal. Kim defeated John Fazli in an 8-5 decision.
 
On day two of the Lehigh Invitational, it began with round two of doubles in which Villanova faced off against Fairfield resulting in a 2-2 tie. The Wildcats then took on Lehigh in the third round of singles taking their first team loss of 5-3. To finish up the final day of play Villanova went up against Colgate in the third round of doubles ending on a high note with a clean sweep of 4-0.
 
As day two kicked off with round two doubles half of the Wildcats teams were able to out play Fairfield and the other half struggled resulting in a tie. Robinson and Winton were bested by Jonathan Olive-Blanco and Keean Shah in a 2-6 loss. They were joined in the loss by fellow Wildcat doubles team of Nguyen and Gatti who went up against Alex Aguiar and Griffin Schlesinger in a 4-6 defeat. Fourticq and Brunetti defeated Will O'Brien and Kostas Kollias in a 6-2 win. Suarez and Prokurat took on Sam Hodges and Stefan Mitrovic and pulled out the 6-4 win.
 
In singles round three only three Villanova players prevailed over Lehigh. They include Robinson, Brunetti, and Prokurat. Robinson took on Jeremey Learner who he had previously defeated the day before in doubles with Winton. Robinson took a quick 3-8 win. Brunetti who has had a stellar start to the year was also victorious over Jackson Morash in an easy 1-8 win. Prokurat had a big battle against Luke Donovan but ultimately came out victorious in a 7-8 win.
 
Of the five Wildcats to fall to the Mountain Hawks Fairfield they Fourticq, Gordon, Nguyen, Kim, and Winton. Wyeth Anzilotti got his revenge against Fourticq, as Fourticq and Brunetti had brought Anzilotti and his doubles partner down in the previous day. Fourticq was defeated in an 8-2 loss. Gordon was bested by Jordan Paul in a very close 8-7 loss. Nguyen faced Aristotelis Benzianis and fell in an 8-4 loss. Winton had the same result in his matchup with Steven Nazaroff in his first singles appearance on the weekend. Kim was also taken down by Michael Bukhalo in an 8-3 defeat.
 
To complete the weekend on a high note, the Wildcats went out with a bang taking the whole of their face off with Colgate. The team of Robinson and Winton bested Jack Selati and Mike Thomas in a 6-4 win. The duo of Fourticq and Brunetti defeated Max Litton and Aidan Lee and a quick 6-3 win. Prokurat and Gordon were triumphant over Josh Isreal and Aidan Chung in a 6-2 win. Choi and Gatti's matchup against Dean Vlassis and Mason Caldwell resulted in the same outcome with a 6-2 win.
 
The Wildcats conclude their fall season in a six-day event on Wednesday October 19 for the ITA Atlantic Regionals which will be held in Charlottesville, Va.