TCU
Baylor Invitational
Simon, Brighiu Advance in Doubles Play at Baylor
9/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Sept. 26, 2008
WACO, Texas--Junior Adrian Simon and sophomore Emanu Brighiu advanced to the quarterfinal round of the men's open doubles "A" draw Friday during the opening day of the Baylor/HEB Invitational. The duo posted a pair of victories during the Horned Frogs' season-opening tournament, including a win over the field's top-seeded team from Texas A&M.
Simon and Brighiu defeated the Aggie duo of Austin Krajicek and Conor Pollock, which entered the weekend rated No. 4 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) national rankings, by an 8-6 score in the Round of 32. Earlier in the day, the two Frogs posted an 8-5 win over Wichita State's Adrian Chermaci and Jonathon Obrist in the opening round.
Simon and Brighiu moved on to Saturday's quarterfinal round, where they will face the Fresno State team of Rudy Siwy and Mirko Zapietal in an 8 a.m. match.
In singles action, Simon and senior Kriegler Brink added wins over top-100 ranked opponents in their first opportunities of the young season.
Simon earned a hard-fought three-set win over 14th-seeded Piotr Banas (Louisiana-Lafayette), 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, in the first round of the men's open singles "A" draw to advance to the Round of 32. Banas entered the day ranked 61st in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. Following the victory, Simon fell to Texas Tech's Gonzalo Escobar in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.
Brink opened his final season as a Horned Frog with a win of his own over Fresno State's Zapletal (6-4, 6-1) in a match pitting two ranked singles players. Zapletal entered the day ranked No. 85 by the ITA, while Brink earned the 93rd overall rating during the preseason. Following his victory, Brink bowed out of the competition to Kraijicek, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the Round of 32.
Brighiu also tasted victory in the opening round of the "A" singles draw, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, over Texas' Josh Zavala, before falling to ninth-seeded Blake Strode (Arkansas), 6-1, 6-4.
Fellow sophomore Zach Nichols lost a tough battle to Tulsa's Victor Kolik, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, before rebounding in the consolation draw, where he defeated Air Force's Bret Rodgers, 6-2, 6-4, to advance to Saturday's consolation second round.
Despite the early success showed by a select group of his players, head coach Dave Borelli still believes his team has work to do to be ready for the remainder of the season.
"I was disappointed overall in the way we played in singles today," Borelli said. "We can do better. I think the more we have a chance to play this fall, the better we can be. I thought we did play well in doubles, though."
The tournament resumes Saturday at the Baylor Tennis Center before concluding on Sunday.
Men's Open Singles - A Draw (Round of 64)
13 Victor Kolik (Tulsa) def. Zach Nichols (TCU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Adrian Simon (TCU) def. 14 Piotr Banas (La. Lafayette) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
Emanu Brighiu (TCU) def. Josh Zavala (Texas) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Kriegler Brink (TCU) def. 16 Mirko Zapletal (Fresno State) 6-4, 6-1
Men's Open Singles - A Draw (Round of 32)
Gonzalo Escobar (Texas Tech) def. Adrian Simon (TCU) 6-4, 6-3 9
Blake Strode (Arkansas) def. Emanu Brighiu (TCU) 6-1, 6-4
Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) def. Kriegler Brink (TCU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Men's Open Singles - B Draw (Round of 64)
Cody Hall (Air Force) def. Mike Donovan (TCU) 7-6, 4-6, 6-4
Andy Wang (Rice) def. Cameron Nash (TCU) 7-6(4), 6-4
Michael Jung (Alabama) def. Kelubia Mabatah (TCU) 6-4, 6-2
Collin Hoover (Texas A&M) def. Alex Panayides (TCU) 6-0, 7-5
David Cavalcanti (Wichita State) def. Eric Olson (TCU) 6-2, 6-1
Men's Open Singles - A Draw Consolation (First Round)
Zach Nichols (TCU) def. Brett Rodgers (Air Force) 6-2, 6-4
Men's Open Singles - B Draw Consolation (First Round)
Rusty Turpin (Tulsa) def. Mike Donovan (TCU) 6-0, 6-0
Kelubia Mabatah (TCU) def. Kayvon Karimi (Texas A&M) 7-6(5) 7-5
David Subirats (UTA) def. Alex Panayides (TCU) 6-2, 7-6(5)
Cameron Nash (TCU) def. Gonzalo Bienzobas (UTA) 6-2, 6-2
Men's Open Doubles - A Draw (Round of 32)
Emanu Brighiu/Adrian Simon (TCU) def. Adrian Chermaci/Jonathon Obrist (Wichita State) 8-5 6
Kriegler Brink/Zach Nichols (TCU) def. Piotr Banas/Piotr Olechowski (La. Lafayette) 8-5
Men's Open Doubles - A Draw (Round of 16)
Emanu Brighiu/Adrian Simon (TCU) def. Austin Krajicek/Conor Pollock (Texas A&M) 8-6
Raony Carvalho/Christian Rojmar (Texas Tech) def. 6 Kriegler Brink/Zach Nichols (TCU) 9-8(5)
Men's Open Doubles - B Draw (Round of 32)
James Langford/David Pace (A&M CC) def. Mike Donovan/Cameron Nash (TCU) 8-4
Kelubia Mabatah/Alex Panayides def. Vishnu Rajam/Andy Wang (Rice) 9-8(5)
Saturday Schedule
Men's Open Singles - A Draw Consolation (Second Round)
Zach Nichols (TCU) v. Austin Klores (Texas A&M)--10:45 a.m.
Men's Open Singles - B Draw Consolation (Second Round)
Eric Olson (TCU) v. Patrick Dean (Texas A&M)--9:15 a.m.
Kelubia Mabatah (TCU) v. Eduardo Salas (NMSU)--9:15 a.m.
Cameron Nash (TCU) v. Michael Dierberger (Wisconsin)--10:45 a.m.
Men's Open Doubles - A Draw (Quarterfinals)
Adrian Simon/Emanu Brighiu (TCU) vs. Rudy Siwy and Mirko Zapietal (Fresno State)--8 a.m.
Men's Open Doubles - B Draw (Quarterfinals)
Kelubia Mabatah/Alex Panayides (TCU) vs. Jim Brouleau/Gustave Diep (NMSU)--8 a.m.
Players Mentioned
