MERION STATION, Pa. – The Villanova University men's tennis team completed play at the Saint Joseph's Invitational this weekend (Oct. 4 through Oct. 6) at the SJU Tennis Complex. Nine singles players and five doubles teams took the court for the Wildcats among two singles and two doubles brackets.
Trey Fourticq,
Thomas Wakefield and
Kush Anand all advanced in their first-round matchups in the Gray singles bracket, but each fell in the second round, ending their singles runs at 1-1.
Will Monahan did not participate in the first round, granting NJIT's Tom Sorin a walkover win.
Freshman
Quincy Jones fell in the first round to Lehigh's Benedict Horn-Borque via a third-set tiebreaker, 1-6, 6-3, 10-8. Jones bounced back with a win in the first consolation round before falling in the consolation semifinals, ending his singles run at 1-2.
Cameron Kruep received a first-round bye but fell in his second-round match and his first consolation match to finish the event 0-2.
In the Black singles bracket, freshman
Evan Ancu advanced to the second round in dramatic fashion defeating Lehigh's Victor Imanishi, 3-6, 6-4, 10-8. He then fell in the second round to finish the event 1-1 in singles. After receiving a first-round bye,
Justin Frattarelli advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating Harford Community College's Martin Dominguez 6-3, 6-3. However, he would fall in the quarterfinals to eventual flight champion Antonio Franquis (Drexel), ending his event at 1-1.
Freshman
Jack Sherner lost his first-round match but bounced back with two wins in the consolation bracket to reach the consolation final. There, he lost to Bryant's Josh Steere, finishing the event at 2-2.
Josh Vestal lost in both his first-round and consolation match.
In the Crimson doubles flight, Anand and Wakefield fell in the first round and in their consolation match, finishing the tournament 0-2. Fourticq and Monahan did not participate, granting Franklin & Marshall's Gervais and Hicks a walkover win.
Sherner and Vestal, Kruep and Jones, and Ancu and Frattarelli all teamed up in the Gray doubles flight. Sherner and Vestal fell in the first round but won their only consolation match, defeating Chestnut Hill's Malik and Vangenechten, 6-4. Kruep and Jones received a first-round bye and won each of their first two matches by a score of 6-3 before falling to Drexel's Burridge and Guzman in the semifinals. Ancu and Frattarelli won their first-round match, but fell to Burridge and Guzman in the second round, to finish the tournament 1-1.
Up next, the Wildcats will play in the ITA Regionals hosted by Penn in Philadelphia. The event will run from Thursday, Oct. 17 to Monday, Oct. 21.
