Howard Competes at Sergio Tacchini Invite
By Jamela Joseph
Special to howard-bison.com
NORFOLK, VA. - The Howard University tennis teams faired well in the Sergio Tacchini Collegiate Tennis Invitational (October 10-12) hosted by Old Dominion at the Folkes-Stevens Indoor Tennis Center and the ODU outdoor tennis courts.
On the men's side, the tournament features nine singles and eight doubles draws, while the women's competition includes 10 singles and nine doubles draws.
HU competed in tough field. Participating teams included Costal Carolina, Delaware, Drexel, George Mason, George Washington, Hampton, James Madison, Loyola, Manhattan, UMBC, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Towson, Villanova, VCU and Virginia Tech, among others.
Christopher Brown put on a show for the men, defeating Hampton's Sung-Kwon Baek in the 16 round of A1 Singles 1-6; 6-4; 1-0. Brown took on Old Dominion's Alexsandr Seleznev in the qualifying round but was defeated 6-1; 6-1. Chad Jones competed against Villanova's John Magliano in the 16th round of the D1 Singles but fell 7-5; 6-1.
Doubles action in the C1 bracket saw Brown and Jones fall 8-1 to Shaheen/Hanno of Villanova. Brown and Jones faired well in the second round of the consolation draw against George Mason's Schneider/Wexler but fell short of the win, 9-7.
On the women's side, Ashley Moore waged a competitive battle against Lauren Holzberg of Penn State in the A1 Singles qualifying round before she was defeated 6-4; 7-6 (6).
Whitney Ambush fought hard against Mary Washington's Amy Sheetz in the round of 16 C1 Singles before succumbing 6-0; 6-4. Ambush went on to the consolation draw and put on a great showing, defeating Villanova's Dani Phillis 8-6.
As the competitions continued, Sydney Sears was defeated by Rachel Bergeron of Loyola (Md.) in the D1 Singles by a score of 6-1; 6-1. Then, Sears came back with a victory against Manhattan's Lindsay Spagnola in the consolation draw, 10-8.
Alyssa Works put forth a solid effort in the B1 Singles consolation round before falling 8-2 to Mary Washington's Courtney Goimarac.
Ambush and Moore paired up for the Doubles B3 match but were defeated by George Mason's Blisk/Longueira in the second round of the consolation draw, 8-4.
Michele Gee had a strong performance in the 16th round of B2 Singles first taking on Rebecca Morse, finishing with a victory of 6-3; 6-1. Gee continued to fight hard against Maria Ycaza and took a victory, 3-2 Red (inj). Gee made it to the semifinals match but was defeated by George Mason's Brooke Blackwell, 6-0; 6-2.
The meet wrapped up the fall season for the Bison. Howard will return to action on January 31 at Old Dominion at 5pm.
