Gulbinovic and Mehagic Claim Doubles Title at USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships
September 27, 2010Gulbinovic in Monday’s Singles Final
SUMTER, S.C. – The Anderson men’s duo of Deni Mehagic and Krystoff Gulbinovic continued their impressive run at the 2010 USTA/ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) Southeast Regional Championships, hosted by Francis Marion over the weekend with the pair winning the men’s doubles “B” flight and Gulbinovic advancing to Monday’s championship in the men’s singles “B” flight.
Gulbinovic and Mehagic began their run to the title by downing the Wingate duo of Braeden Patchell and Louis Villarroel, 8-4, and followed with an 8-1 win over Pfeiffer’s Sid Kaushuik and Luis Villata on Friday. The AU duo posted a quarterfinal win past Augusta State’s Victor Guimaraes and Sergei Forcadel, 8-1, and cruised past FC’s Adam Hunt and Uriel Oquendo with an 8-1 decision Saturday afternoon.
The pair brought home the championship when North Greenville’s Mataeus Camasmie and Giovani Santos withdrew from Sunday’s title match.
Mehagic and Gulbinovic each earned wins in singles “B” action on Friday at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, S.C., with Mehagic collecting a straight-set 6-1, 6-1 win past Coker’s Evan Schreiner and Gulbinovic holding off Augusta State’s Max Coulomb, 7-5, 7-5.
Mehagic won his second singles contest past Erskine’s Vincent Chauvette with a 6-3, 6-3 score early Saturday morning, but dropped a tough three-set quarterfinal matchup to Francis Marion’s Tanguy Montoisy, 6-1, 3-6, 4-6. Gulbinovic followed up Friday’s opening-round win by garnering a straight-set 6-4, 6-0 victory over Limestone’s Jordan Vicain and moved into the quarterfinals by knocking off Pfeiffer’s Ben Hunter, 6-3, 6-1.
Gulbinovic avenged his teammate’s setback by defeating FMU’s Gulbinovic by an identical 6-3, 6-1 score and moved into the championship with a 6-1, 6-4 win past Georgia College & State’s Tyler Franks. The Lithuanian native did not drop a set en route to Monday’s title matchup with Francis Marion’s Stefan Ruprecht.
The USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships continue through Monday afternoon, and results will be posted as they become available.
Francis Marion captured both the men’s and women’s doubles titles in 2009, sending four athletes to the ITA National Small College Championships in Mobile, Ala.
The ITA Regional Championships, currently sponsored by the USTA, date back to 1981 and for nearly two decades were also known as the Rolex Regional Championships. The ITA Regional Championships feature the top men's and women's players from each of the ITA's regions. All in all, 8,000 varsity tennis players from 600 schools will participate in the USTA/ITA Regional Championships.
Twenty-four men’s programs and 27 women’s programs are expected to participate in the Southeast Regional.
The Small College (NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College) singles and doubles champions from the USTA/ITA Regional Championships will advance to the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships, held October 14-17 at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama.
The USTA/ITA National Small College Championships are comprised of the eight regional champions (and/or at-large selections) from NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges.
The singles and doubles champions at each divisional level will then compete to become the overall “Super Bowl” champions. The "Super Bowl" champions earn wild cards into the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships with the opportunity to win the culminating event held at the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
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