The ETSU men’s tennis team competed in the University of South Carolina Tournament this past weekend from Sept. 20 to Sept. 22.
For the Bucs, the only two players who competed were junior Frazier Rengifo (Cali, Colombia) and junior Yusuf Khamis (Cairo, Egypt).
“It was really, really good to see them compete together,” said head coach Martin Stiegwardt. “They both had small injuries this summer, and now they get to play together again.”
By the end of the weekend’s tournament, Rengifo competed in singles, losing three out of the four matches played. Rengifo’s first match against Siddhant Banthia (WFU) ended with a score of 6-4, 7-5, his second match against Phillip Jordan (USC) with a score of 6-0, 6—0.
Rengifo won his third match against Huntleyt Allen (SMU) with a score of 6-2, 6-4, but he lost his final singles match against Cleeve Harper (Texas) with a score of 6-1, 6-1.
Khamis also competed in singles and lost. He was unable to find the lead in the four matches competed. Khamis played his first match against Hamish Stewart (Tulane) with a score of 6-2, 6-2, his second match against Beau Pelletier (USC) with a score of 6-1, 2-6, 6-1, and his final two singles matches due to a walk-off.
The two played together in doubles and fell to Yuya Ito and Siem Woldeab from Texas with a score of 8-4. They were also set up to play a second match, which was lost due to a forfeit.
“We will be working on his fitness with the strength coaches and playing more matches with the other guys,” said Stiegwardt. “He has to put in the hours and get sharper.”
The next match for the tennis team will be the Intercollegiate ITA All American Tournament. Fraiser Rengifo will be the only one of the Bucs competing in this tournament from the men’s team.
The ITA All American Tournament is Oct. 5-11.
