ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Utah men’s tennis team went 8-1 on the second day of the ITA Mountain Regional Championships hosted by the University of New Mexico. The Utes have two doubles teams in the Round of 16 and two in the singles quarterfinals of the main draw.
The regional doubles champion and the regional singles champion and finalists qualify for the ITA National Fall Championships from November 4-7 in San Diego, California. To view the updated singles and doubles draws, click here.
The second day opened with doubles, where the Utes have the top-seeded and third-seeded doubles teams. Playing the first match was the top-seeded team of Franco Capalbo and Geronimo Espin Busleiman, who are also ranked 8th in the national preseason doubles rankings. They faced Arjun Kersten and Jonny Mascagni of the Air Force Academy, and the Utes came out on top 8-3, advancing to the Round of 16.
The third-seeded doubles team of Patrik Trhac and Berk Bugarikj wasted little time with their opponents as they defeated Bruno Casino and Mario Duron of Idaho, 8-3. With the win, both teams advanced to the Round of 16, which will be played on Saturday.
In the Round of 32 for singles, top-seeded Capalbo matched up against Tom Bittner of Montana. Capalbo won the first set, 6-2, before winning the match, 7-6 (2), advancing to the Round of 16. Eight-seed Patrik Trhac earned a win in his match, putting two Utes in the Round of 16. Trhac earned a 6-4, 6-4 win over Samuel Sippel of Boise State. Not to be outdone, Espin Busleiman earned a trip to the Round of 16 after defeating Daniel Torres of Northern Arizona, 6-2, 6-4.
Moving onto the quarterfinals of the main draw was top-seeded Capalbo, who earned a three-set win over Aram Noroozian. Capalbo dropped the first set, 5-7, but answered back, winning the next two, 6-3, 6-2. He was the first Ute to move onto the quarterfinals.
The Utes moved their second player into the singles quarterfinals when Espin Busleiman defeated Sebastian Buxman of Weber State. Espin Busleiman came away with a 6-3, 6-4 victory and joined Capalbo in the quarterfinals.
In the Round of 16, Trhac matched up with the 14th-seeded Matej Panik of Montana State. Trhac came away with a first-set 6-4 victory. However, he would drop the following two sets and fall short of the…
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