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Rinderknech Repeats, Kirchheimer Too Strong, Iradukunda is the Guy in Tally, Malik/Wong Win Wild One

by | Oct 24, 2016 | Blog

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While the women’s regionals saw four teams get singles/doubles sweeps there weren’t any men’s teams able to pull off the same feat. Four of the five doubles finals went to a third set supertiebreak while three of six singles finals saw a third set though only one entered nailbiter status. 

 
Southwest (Pepperdine) – Singles/Doubles Draws – UCLA senior Gage Brymer made it three years in a row that someone from UCLA had claimed the Southwest Region singles title after a straight set win over USC junior Thibault Forget. Brymer only needed 30 minutes to claim the opening set 6-1 but the second set was much more competitive. Brymer went up a break at 4-3 in the second but Forget broke back and then had thee set points on Brymer’s 5-6 service game. Brymer managed to hold for 6-6 and then he rolled through the tiebreak 7-3 to claim the title. 
 
Championship 
[2] Gage Brymer (UCLA) def. [4] Thibault Forget (USC) 6-1, 7-6(3)
 
Post-Match Comments from UCLA’s recap
“I feel like I played pretty solid throughout the tournament, and not much changed in the final,” said Brymer of his performance. “I was on a roll in the first, and he stepped it up a bit in the second. 
 
“I’m really excited,” said Brymer of his automatic bid. “I’ve never been to that tournament before. I’ve always heard good things, but I’m really excited to be able to experience it this year for myself. I can’t wait.”
 
“I think it’s great,” said Brymer of UCLA prevailing over USC in the final the past three years. “It says a lot about our team and our program, and it’s always great to beat SC in anything. Hopefully next year, we’ll get another Bruin to take the title.”
 
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Texas (TCU) – Singles/Doubles Draws – Texas A&M junior Arthur Rinderknech won the Texas Region Singles Championship for the second year in a row with a straight set win over Texas Tech senior Jolan Cailleau. Rinderknech took the opening set 6-1 but Cailleau looked like he’d push it to a third set after taking a 5-3 lead in the second. Rinderknech had other plans and took the final four games to close it out 6-1, 7-5.
 
Championship 
[1] Arthur Rinderknech (Texas A&M) def. [2] Jolan Cailleau (Texas Tech) 6-1, 7-5
 
Post-Match Comments from Texas Tech’s recap
“I know Jolan is disappointed by today’s result, and he wishes he would have played better during different points of the match,” Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. “Overall, he had a great tournament and has had a really solid fall. He can look forward to a great spring season if he continues to keep playing at this level.”
 
 
TCU’s Reese Stalder and Trevor Johnson won the doubles title with a straightforward 6-3, 6-2 win over Rinderknech and Max Lunkin. It will be Johnson’s second trip to the National Indoor Intercollegiates with his first coming two years ago when he and Cameron Norrie won the Texas Region Doubles Championship.
 
Doubles Championship
[2] Reese Stalder/Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. [3] Max Lunkin/Arthur Rinderknech (Texas A&M) 6-3, 6-2
 
Post-Match Comments from TCU assistant coach Devin Bowen via TCU’s recap
“Trevor and Reese played phenomenal tennis from first point until match point. They played great and they just looked like they were seeing the ball so big and so well that everything seemed so easy for them. They played really free flowing and great tennis. The bigger the point, the better they played and it was beautiful.
 
“Trevor and Reese have great chemistry and they enjoy playing together. The two of them have a really good time and they want to play well for each other, they want to be a team and it is clear on the court that they enjoy it and have fun. That is what makes them a good team so far.”

 

 
 
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Central (Oklahoma State) – Singles Top & Bottom/Doubles – Arkansas senior Jose Salazar became the first Razorback since Blake Strode (2008) to qualify for the National Indoor Intercollegiates after defeating Minnesota junior Matic Spec. Salazar came back from a 4-2 first set deficit to take the set 7-5 but Spec got the split after taking the second 6-2. Salazar broke Spec’s 2-2 service game in the third set and maintained the break lead the rest of the way to win it 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.  

 
Championship 
[3] Jose Salazar (Arkansas) def. Matic Spec (Minnesota) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
 
Post-Match Comments from Arkansas’s recap
“Jose played a fantastic match against a guy who will be an elite player this year,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “Jose was aggressive on big points and he deserved to win and go to the National Indoor. “Nestor Briceno is masterful in the coaching he does with Jose and played a big part in his winning this event. With Mike (Redlicki) also likely to get an at-large bid to the National Indoor, it could not be better for us.”
 
 
The ITA No. 1 ranked doubles team of Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe gutted out a tight three-set win over Bedlam rivals Alex Ghilea and Spencer Papa. Ghilea and Papa took the first set 6-2 but Cash and Kadhe got the split with a 6-3 second set. Cash and Kadhe won the third set supertiebreak 11-9 when a Papa volley sailed just long and with that Oklahoma State had its first ITA Regional Doubles Champ since 2009. Video clip of match point starts with Ghilea serving 9-10
 
 
Doubles Championship 
Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe (Oklahoma State) def. Alex Ghilea/Spencer Papa (Oklahoma) 2-6, 6-3, 11-9
 
Post-Match Comments from Oklahoma State’s recap
“We’re in a very tough region and we knew we’d get a lot of high-quality matches this week,” head coach Jay Udwadia said. “It’s a bonus if you can win some of those and we had a solid showing this week and it’s nice to culminate the week with that doubles victory.”
 

“Once we got our energy up, we started playing a lot better,” Cash said after the win. “We started playing here straight after the Futures event last week, so we’re pretty tired and ready for some days off now. After losing in singles yesterday, I was able to go home and get some extra rest and just be able to focus on doubles today and it definitely showed today.”

 
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Midwest (Ohio State) – Singles/Doubles – Northwestern senior Strong Kirchheimer won a pair of matches on Monday to win the Midwest Region Singles Championship. Kirchheimer started off the morning by knocking out the defending champion Ohio State’s Herkko Pollanen in three-sets. After splitting the first two sets, Kirchheimer struck first in the third set when he broke Pollanen on the no-ad point to take a 4-2 lead. Kirchheimer would then hold on the no-ad point, via a forehand winner, to take a 5-2 lead and two games later he’d hold from 40/15 to close it out 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. 

 
Kirchheimer would meet Michigan senior Kevin Wong in the final after Wong won a back and forth three-setter over his Michigan teammate sophomore Myles Schalet. Wong won the opening set 7-6 and then it looked like he’d take a break lead in the second when Schalet served at 2-2 (0/40) but Schalet fought back to get the hold. Schalet then broke Wong from 15/40 to ahead 4-2 and a few games later he’d hold on the no-ad point, on a great serve and volley winner, to take the second set 6-3. Schalet broke Wong to go up 2-1 in the third and he’d lead 4-2 before Wong clawed his way back in. Wong held and then broke Schalet from 15/40 to even it at 4-4 but Schalet broke back on the no-ad point when Wong overcooked a forehand from just in front of the net. Schalet would be unable to close it out as Wong broke from 15/40, held on the no-ad point (Schalet forehand sailed long), and then broke on the no-ad point (cross-court forehand winner past a drawn in Schalet) to win it 7-6, 3-6, 7-5. 
 
After a 90-minute break both Kirchheimer and Wong returned to the court but Kirchheimer didn’t waste any time and jumped out to an early break lead. Wong had a chance to get back in the opening set when Kirchheimer served 5-3 (40/40) but Kirchheimer hit a big serve down the T and that was pretty much the match. Kirchheimer broke Wong to start the second set and he’d break him two more times to win it 6-3, 6-0.
 
Semifinals 
[14] Kevin Wong (Michigan) vs. [19] Myles Schalet (Michigan) 7-6, 3-6, 7-5
[2] Strong Kirchheimer (Northwestern) vs. [3] Herkko Pollanen (Ohio State) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
 
Championship 
[2] Strong Kirchheimer (Northwestern) def. [14] Kevin Wong (Michigan) 6-3, 6-0
 
Post-Match Quotes from Northwestern’s recap
“A great tournament by Strong this weekend,” head coach Arvid Swan said. “He put in a lot of hard work and competed really well. This win is important because it allows Strong to represent Northwestern at the prestigious National Indoor Championships.”
 

“It was good to win this tournament,” Kirchheimer said. “That was my goal coming in. I did some things well, but I have a lot I can work on heading into the National Indoors.”

 
 
Wong was back on the court for a third time to play in the doubles final as he and senior Jathan Malik took on Valparaiso’s Charlie Emhardt and Jeffrey Schorsch. Valpo took the opening set in a tiebreak and then they came back from 3-5 down in the second to go ahead 6-5. Emhardt and Schorsch had three championship points with Michigan serving at 15/40 but Malik and Wong got the hold to force a tiebreak. Malik and Wong took the second set tiebreak 8-6 and then they led 9-5 in the third set supertiebreak before Emhardt and Schorsch took the next five to take a 10-9* lead. Malik and Wong tied it at 10-10 but Emhardt and Schorsch went up a mini-break at 11-10. Malik hit a series of one-hand backhands and eventually forced a Valpo error to even it at 11-11 and then a Valpo forehand error put Michigan ahead *12-11. Valpo fought off a fifth match point to even it at 12-12 but a few points later Michigan would close it out 15-13. 
 
Doubles Championship 
[4] Jathan Malik/Kevin Wong (Michigan) def. [2] Charlie Emhardt/Jeffrey Schorsch (Valparaiso) 6-7(6), 7-6(6), 15-13
 
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Northeast (Penn) – Singles/Doubles – When this regional began not too many would have picked Penn’s Josh Pompan and Cornell’s Chris Vrabel to be in the singles final but here they are. Pompan booked his spot in the finals with a straight set win over Columbia’s William Matheson and a three set win over Dartmouth’s David Horneffer. In the semifinal win over Horneffer, Pompan broke Horneffer to go ahead 3-1 in the third set and then a few games later he closed it out with a service winner on the no-ad point. 

 
Vrabel booked his spot with straight set wins over Dartmouth’s Charlie Broom and the top seed Columbia’s Shawn Hadavi. 
 
The doubles final will be an All-Columbia tilt and will therefore be played back in New York City later in the day. 
 
Quarterfinals 
[1] Shawn Hadavi (Columbia) def. [9-16] Sebastian Beltrame (Harvard) 6-2, 6-3
[17-32] Chris Vrabel (Cornell) def. [17-32] Charlie Broom (Dartmouth) 6-4, 6-0
[9-16] David Horneffer (Dartmouth) def. [9-16] Colin Sinclair (Cornell) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
[9-16] Josh Pompan (Penn) def. [Q] William Matheson (Columbia) 6-2, 7-6(6)
 
Semifinals  
[17-32] Chris Vrabel (Cornell) def. [1] Shawn Hadavi (Columbia) 6-4, 6-4
[9-16] Josh Pompan (Penn) def. [9-16] David Horneffer (Dartmouth) 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3
 
Championship (Tuesday 9 a.m. ET)
[9-16] Josh Pompan (Penn) vs. [17-32] Chris Vrabel (Cornell)
 
Doubles Semifinals 
[3-4] Shawn Hadavi/Jackie Tang (Columbia) def. [1] Alex Day/Luke Gamble (Princeton) 6-4, 6-4
[5-8] Richard & Victor Pham (Columbia) def. Alex Hagermoser/Stefan Doehler (Yale) 7-5, 6-4
 
Doubles Championship (Tuesday 3 p.m. ET at Columbia)
[3-4] Shawn Hadavi/Jackie Tang (Columbia) vs. [5-8] Richard & Victor Pham (Columbia)
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Ohio Valley (Tennessee) – Singles/Doubles Draws – Memphis junior Ryan Peniston overcame a late charge to defeat Kentucky junior Trey Yates to win the Ohio Valley Region Championship. Peniston won a quick 6-0 first set but Yates got back in it and took the second 6-3. Peniston held to start the third set then he broke and held again to open up a 3-0 lead. Yates wasn’t ready to throw in the towel and took four of the next five games to tie it at 4-4. Yates went up 15/40 on Peniston’s 4-4 service game but he couldn’t get the break as Peniston held for 5-4. Yates went up 30/0 on his 4-5 service game but Peniston came back to break on the no-ad point (Yates backhand error) to win it. 
 
Peniston’s win marked the third time in the last four years that Memphis had a regional winner (Andrew Watson 2014, Joe Salisbury/David O’Hare 2013). 
 
Post-Match Comments from Memphis’s recap
“His last couple of matches, Ryan had lost the first sets,” Head Coach Paul Goebel said. “He really managed to get his focus and play well in second and third to get wins there, but today, we focused on getting off to a quicker starter. He played a pretty much flawless first set, one of the best first sets I’ve seen him play.”
 

“In the second set, his opponent picked up his game and there were a couple of close deuce points that went Kentucky’s way,” Goebel said. “The third set was truly a fantastic set to determine the champion of this tourney. Both players played at a high level. It was some really good tennis. It was nice to see Ryan handle the pressure situation, hitting out on his shots and being aggressive, a lot of the things we’ve been working on in practice. He applied them today in a big-time situation.”

“Once every five years would be an accomplishment,” Goebel said. “So to send three in four years is amazing. This really caps what was a great effort for our team this weekend. We had two teams make the doubles quarters, five players in round of 32, and three in top 16. There were a lot of really good individual performances and it was a good way for us to finish the fall, collegiate portion of our schedule.”

Singles Championship 
[5] Ryan Peniston (Memphis) def. [13] Trey Yates (Kentucky) 6-0, 3-6, 6-4
 
 
Tennessee’s Luis Valero and Jack Schipanski captured the doubles title with a come from behind three set win over Kentucky’s Beck Pennington and Enzo Wallart. The Kentucky duo led 6-3, 4-3* before Valero and Schipanski held, broke, and held to force the third set supertiebreak. Valero and Schipanski led 9-4 before Pennington and Wallart won four straight to pull within 9-8. Schipanski would close it out on the next point with a service winner to give Tennessee it’s fourth regional doubles champion since 2009
 
 
Doubles Championship 
[1] Luis Valero/Jack Schipanski (Tennessee) def. [3] Beck Pennington/Enzo Wallart (Kentucky) 3-6, 6-4, 10-4
 
Post-Match Comments from Tennessee’s recap
“They executed really well, and by the end of the match, they were playing as well as they played the whole match,” Tennessee associate head coach Chris Woodruff said. “That’s something as a coach you like to see. You’re ending the match playing the best you can.”
 

“We just had to hang in there when they were hitting tapes, getting lines, serving and playing everything perfect,” Valero said. “Then I think we raised the level, and Jack played unbelievable.”

“In 10-point tiebreakers, there’s not much room for errors,” Schipanski said. “You have to go out with a lot of energy. That was our main focus from the start, to play high intensity doubles. You give yourself your best chance when you do that. We came out and returned well and served really well.” 

 
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Southeast (Florida State) – Singles/Doubles  – A year ago Florida State’s Guy Iradukunda was playing at Seminole State Junior College in Seminole, Oklahoma, and on Monday afternoon he was beating his fourth ranked player of the week to win the Southeast Region Singles Championship. Iradukunda dropped the opening set 6-3 to the top seed Georgia’s Wayne Montgomery but the FSU transfer rebounded to take the second set 6-1. Iradukunda broke Montgomery to go ahead 2-1 in the third and he broke again to make it 5-2. Montgomery got one of the breaks back but Iradukunda broke on the no-ad point to close it out 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. 
 
Singles Championship 
Guy Iradukunda (Florida State) def. [1] Wayne Montgomery (Georgia) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 
 
 
 
Florida freshman Johannes Ingildsen and sophomore Alfredo Perez won the doubles title with a pair of close wins over North Florida and South Florida. 
 
Doubles Semifinals
[6] Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (Florida) def. [1] Jack Findel-Hawkins/Lasse Muscheites (North Florida) 7-6(2), 7-6(5)
[8] Justin Roberts/Peter Bertran (South Florida) def. [7] Wayne Montgomer/Emil Reinberg (Georgia) 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-8
 
Championship
[6] Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (Florida) def. [8] Justin Roberts/Peter Bertran (South Florida) 6-3, 3-6, 10-3
 
Post-Match Comments from Florida assistant coach Tanner Stump via Florida’s recap
“We are so proud of what Alfredo and Johannes accomplished these last few days. To come in with very little experience together and get the job done against our extremely tough regional field is a huge compliment to their chemistry and work together. They are learning to compete and communicate very well with each other and we hope this is just the tip of the iceberg for them.
 
“The weekend as a whole was good for us as coaches to see. There are some things that we saw happen repeatedly that we have to correct and begin to move forward with for us to accomplish what we want to accomplish this year. We know that our guys are dedicated to this program and the brand that UF has, we just have to commit to getting after it every day and seek the perfection we want as individuals and as a team.”
 
  

Men’s National Indoor Intercollegiate Qualifiers

Singles (32-draw):
Petros Chrysochos (Wake Forest) – All-American Champion
Hugo Di Feo (Ohio State) – AA Finalist
Mikael Torpegaard (Ohio State) – AA Semis
Christian Sigsgaard (Texas) – AA Semis
Chris Eubanks (Georgia Tech) – AA Quarters
Alfredo Perez (Florida) – AA Quarters
Tom Fawcett (Stanford) – AA Quarters
Florian Lakat (Cal) – AA Quarters
Brandon Holt (USC) – AA Consolation Champion
Ryotaro Matsumura (Kentucky) – Oracle ITA Masters Champion
Oliver Frank (Azusa Pacific) – Oracle Cup Champion
Andre Goransson (Cal) – ITA Northwest Champion
Nuno Borges (Mississippi State) – ITA Southern Champion
Skander Mansouri (Wake Forest) – ITA Carolina Champion
JC Aragone (Virginia) – ITA Atlantic Champion
Jakob Amilon (UNLV) – ITA Mountain Champion
Guy Iradukunda (Florida State) – ITA Southeast Champion
Ryan Peniston (Memphis) – ITA Ohio Valley Champion
Gage Brymer (UCLA) – ITA Southwest Champion
Arthur Rinderknech (Texas A&M) – ITA Texas Champion
Jose Salazar (Arkansas) – ITA Central Champion
Strong Kirchheimer (Northwestern) – ITA Midwest Champion

Doubles (20-draw):
Florian Lakat/Filip Bergevi (Cal) – AA Champion
Jack Findel-Hawkins/Lasse Muscheites (North Florida) – AA Runner-Up
Tommy Bennett/David Warren (Rice) – AA Consolation
Jordan Cox/Kevin Konfederak (Georgia Gwinnett) – Oracle Cup Champion
Sameer Kumar/Yale Goldberg (Stanford) – ITA Northwest Champion
Fabian Fallert/Grey Hamilton (Ole Miss) – ITA Southern Champion
Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (Wake Forest) – ITA Carolina Champion
Jacob Dunbar/Alexandre Felisa (Richmond) – ITA Atlantic Champion
Alex Gasson/Yannik James (Denver) – ITA Mountain Champion
Simon Freund/Morgan Mays (UC Santa Barbara) – ITA Southwest Champion
Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (Florida) – ITA Southeast Champion
Luis Valero/Jack Schipanski (Tennessee) – ITA Ohio Valley Champion
Reese Stalder/Trevor Johnson (TCU) – ITA Texas Champion
Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe (Oklahoma State) – ITA Central Champion
Jathan Malik/Kevin Wong (Michigan) – ITA Midwest Champion