ORLANDO, Fla - The third-seeded Richmond Spiders won the doubles point and split in singles to outlast Fordham, 4-2, Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship, held at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
The Spiders started the match winning a thrilling doubles point in a tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles, 7-6 (10) when Josh Keitelman and Daniel Kliebhan, who were down 5-6 and 40-0, won four-straight points to send the deciding match into a tiebreaker. Richmond's duo kept fighting down 9-10 and won three-straight points to win a nail bitter, 12-10 and
UR's Matthew Fernandez and Alex Wernink earned a 6-1 win against Tom Russwurm and Jofre Segarra at No. 3 doubles to open play, before Fordham's Max Green and Alex Makatsaria evened the score at No. 2 doubles, 6-2.
In singles, UR's Kliebhan won in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 against Nicholas Kanazirev at No. 2 singles to extend the Spiders lead, before Fordham cut the lead to 2-1 with a 6-4, 6-3 victory from De Macar at No. 5 singles.
John Walsh gave Richmond a 3-1 lead after taking down Makatsaria, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4 singles but Fordham got within 3-2 after Mauritzson won against Fernandez, 7-6 (5), 6-2 at No. 1 singles.
With two matches remaining, both went the distance in three sets. At No. 3 singles, Wernink went unfinished in a third set tiebreaker, 6-6. Wernink won the second set, 6-2 and was playing a tiebreaker in the final set.
Keitelman clinched the match with a comeback victory against Tom Russwurm, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 at No. 6 singles. Keitelman was trailing 2-5 in the third set before mounting a furious comeback winning five-straight games to send UR into the semifinals.
The Spiders will face second-seeded Dayton in the A-10 semifinals on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
MATCH #6 - #3 RICHMOND def. #6 FORDHAM, 4-2
SINGLES
1. Fabian Mauritzson (FOR) def. Matthew Fernandez (UR) 7-6(5), 6-3
2. Daniel Kliebhan (UR) def. Nicholas Kanzirev (FOR) 6-2, 6-3
3. Alex Wernink (UR) vs. Max Green (FOR) 3-6, 6-2, 6-6, DNF
4. John Walsh (UR) def. Alex Makatsaria (FOR) 6-2, 6-4
5. Lutwin De Macar (FOR) def. Campbell Erwin (UR) 6-4, 6-3
6. Josh Keitelman (UR) def. Tom Russwurm (FOR) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 4, 1, 6
DOUBLES
1. Josh Keitelman/Daniel Kliebhan (UR) def. Fabian Mauritzson/Lutwin De Macar (FOR) 7-6(10)
2. Max Green/Alex Makatsaria (FOR) def. John Walsh/ Campbell Erwin (UR) 6-2
3. Matthew Fernandez/Alex Wernink (UR) def. Jofre Segarra/Tom Russwurm (FOR) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
ORLANDO, Fla. - The second-seeded Dayton Flyers pulled out a 4-2 victory against No. 7 Saint Louis in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship Friday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
The matched kicked off with an exciting doubles split, first with Dayton's top pair of Connor Bruce and Max Decurtins earning the 6-2 victory. The Saint Louis duo of Ryota Fukushima and Theo Ortis evened the score, taking a 6-4 win at No. 3 singles.
The match would come down to court two, with Oscar Alvarez and Adam Behun (SLU) Matt DeMarco and Steven Karl (UD), battling back and forth. The Billikens' pair pulled out the victory, eventually winning 6-4 and clinching the doubles point.
Trailing 1-0 in the match, Dayton's Will Harper struck first, winning 6-4, 6-1 over Ignacio Tintore at No. 6 singles to tie the score.
SLU's Fukushima won at No. 3 singles, 6-4, 6-1 to give the Billikens' the lead once again, 2-1, but Dayton answered back as Connor Bruce took down Oscar Alvarez at the top flight, 6-3, 6-4 in an exciting match.
With the match tied 2-2, Matt DeMarco won 7-5 in the first set, and a convincing 6-1 in the second set to swing the match back in Dayton's favor.
At court five, Behun and Eliasson battled in an even matchup, splitting sets and forcing a third. The match would be decided on court two, as Karl won a first-set tiebreak 7-6(5), then didn't surrender a game to win 6-0 and give the Flyers the clinching point.
With the win, the Flyers advance to the semifinals and will face No. 3 Richmond on Saturday at noon.
MATCH #7 - #2 DAYTON def. #7 SAINT LOUIS, 4-2
SINGLES
1. Connor Bruce (UD) def. Oscar Alvarez (SLU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Steven Karl (UD) def. Theo Ortis (SLU) 7-6(5), 6-0
3. Ryota Fukushima (SLU) def. Georgi Mavrodiev (UD) 6-4, 6-1
4. Matt DeMarco (UD) def. Eliott Ekindi (SLU) 7-5, 6-1
5. Adam Behun (SLU) vs. Erik Eliasson (UD) 7-5, 3-6, DNF
6. Will Harper (UD) def. Ignacio Tintore (SLU), 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 1, 4, 2
DOUBLES
1. Connor Bruce/Max Decurtins (UD) def. David Hopper/Eliott Ekindi (SLU) 6-2
2. Oscar Alvarez/Adam Behun (SLU) def. Matt DeMarco/Steven Karl (UD) 6-4
3. Ryota Fukushima/Theo Ortis (SLU) def. Georgi Mavrodiev/Joe DeMarco (UD) 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2