Courtesy of Nevada Athletics –
MALIBU, Calif. – Wolf Pack Men’s Tennis opened the ITA West Sectionals with two victories, widening the door on the path to the NCAA Individual Championships
The ITA West Sectional Championships features 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams, all vying for the final spots at the NCAA Individual Championships, later this month in Waco, Texas. The top six singles players (four semifinalists and two playoff-winners of the four quarterfinals losers) and top three doubles teams (two finalists and third place match winner) will qualify for the NCAA Championships.
DAY ONE – Kadiri defeats ranked Husky, Kadiri-Hammond into quarterfinal
Youssef Kadiri and Lucas Hammond opened the day playing Mountain West foe Jett Middleton and James Van Herzeele from Boise State. The Wolf Pack dominated the match winning 6-1, 6-1.
Kadiri, also competing in the singles draw, played seeded Dzianis Zharyn from Washington. Zharyn, ranked 92nd in the country, kept up with Kadiri, pushing the first set to a tiebreaker, before Kadiri dominated, winning the tiebreaker and the first set, 7-6 (1). Kadiri earned a key break in the second set to defeat Zharyn in the second set, 6-4.
FRIDAY SCHEDULE
10 a.m. – Kadiri/Hammond (NEV) vs. [4] Van Loben Sels/Ballotta (UCLA)
12:30 p.m. – Kadiri (NEV) vs. Papa (PU)
SCOUTING DAY TWO
The Pack doubles team will take on the fourth-seed Emon Van Loben Sels and Gianluca Ballotta of UCLA. The Bruins opened the day defeated No. 90 Noah Zamora and Hiroki Sakagawa from UC Irvine, defeating the Anteaters, 6-3, 6-4. Van Loben Sels and Ballotta had not played with each other this fall prior to Thursday. However, Van Loben Sels and Spencer Johnson are the 77th ranked duo in the ITA fall rankings.
Van Loben Sels holds a 7.7 WTN Rating in doubles, while Ballotta claims a 14.8 rating. Comparatively, Kadiri owns a 10.2 doubles rating and Hammond has a 11.1 doubles rating.
Kadiri will take on Pepperdine’s Chris Papa in the round of 16. Papa, on his home courts, defeated Van Herzeele from Boise State in a long, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 7-5 victory. Papa is now 3-4 in singles play this season and holds a 8.2 WTN Rating, compared to Kadiri’s 8.1 WTN singles rating.
RESULTS
Doubles Draw
Kadiri/Hammond (NEV) def. Middleton/Van Herzeele (BSU), 6-1, 6-1
Singles Draw
Kadiri (NEV) def. #92 Zharyn (UW), 7-6 (1), 6-4
