Quinnipiac University
Yale University
Freshman Doubles Team Advances to Semifinals at Connecticut State Championships
9/24/2016 6:57:00 PM | Men's Tennis
New Haven, Conn. – The future is bright for the Quinnipiac men's tennis team as the freshman duo of Austin Yannone (Severna Park, Maryland) and Axel Stern (Tustin, California) were able to advance to the doubles semifinals on the second day of competition at the Connecticut State Championships, hosted by Yale University on Saturday afternoon.
The day began in the Flight "A" singles quarterfinals, where senior Kei Ezaka (Ojai, California) was matched up against Jacob Walker of Brown. Walker beat Ezaka in the first set 6-4, but Ezaka battled back to win the second set, 3-6. However, Ezaka could not complete a comeback as he fell in the final set, 11-9.
In the consolation bracket, freshman Jackson Koke (Calgary, Alberta) was able to earn a win over Sacred Heart's Matthew Surprenant. Koke dropped the first set 4-6, but was able to bounce back and win the following two sets, 6-0 and 10-7. Senior Ryoma Haraguchi (New York, New York) followed suit and was able to defeat Peter Colliard of Fairfield, 7-6 in straight sets.
Sophomore Julian Rozenstein (Marlboro, New Jersey) was also in the bracket and secured a win over Marist's Lars Schouten, 6-4 and 6-2 in straight sets. Sophomore Freddie Zaretsky tried to follow-up with a win of his own over Charles Tan of Brown but couldn't get over the hump. Tan beat Zaretsky 6-2 in the first set, but Zaretsky took the second set 6-3. However, Tan was able to muster a 10-8 win in the final set. Stern was also unable to pick up a singles win on Saturday, falling to Lucas Da Silveira of Brown, 6-4 in straight sets.
Ryoma and Zaretsky got the day started for the Bobcats in doubles play, but they suffered an early 6-1 loss to Boston College's Derek Austin and Conor Mullins. Ezaka and Rozenstein were able to earn a win in their first match of the day, beating Yale's Nathan Brown and Dennis Wang, 6-4. However, the duo was unable to win in the next round, falling to Brad Orban and Tyler Shibles of Fairfield, 6-2.
The Bobcats finished the day off strong with the duo of Stern and Yannone advancing to the semifinals. Stern and Yannone were able to best Alex Hagermoser and Dylan King of Yale, 7-6 in tiebreakers. The duo was then able to defeat UConn's Hank Hill and Justin Warren, 7-5, securing their place in the semifinals.
The Quinnipiac men's tennis team returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 10 A.M. with doubles competition.
Flight "A" Singles:
Walker (Brown) def. Ezaka (QU): 6-4, 3-6, 11-9
Consolation "A" Singles:
Koke (QU) def. Surprenant (Sacred Heart): 4-6, 6-0, 10-7
Ryoma (QU) def. Colliard (Fairfield): 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5)
Rozenstein (QU) def. Schouten (Marist): 6-4, 6-2
Tan (Brown) def. Zaretsky (QU): 6-2, 3-6, 10-8
Da Silveira (Brown) def. Stern (QU): 6-4, 6-4
Flight Doubles:
Austin/Mullins (Boston College) def. Ryoma/Zaretsky (QU): 6-1
Ezaka/Rozenstein def.Brown/Wang (Yale): 6-4
Orban/Shibles def. Ezaka/Rozenstein (QU): 6-2
Stern/Yannone (QU) def. Hagermoser/King (Yale): 7-6 (5)
Stern/Yannone (QU) def. Hill/Warren (UConn): 7-5
Players Mentioned
