ETSU men’s tennis returned home with a title in hand following the Louisville Invitational over the weekend when the Bucs duo of Yusuf Khamis (Cairo, Egypt) and Francisco Lamas (Maracay, Venezuela) earned the doubles title in an impressive performance.
The Bucs, coming off an exit in the round of 16 in their last doubles event, looked dominant as the two swept the event with a perfect 3-0 record.
In the quarterfinals, the Bucs had a strong showing against the Purdue duo of Rohan Sachdev and Athell Bennett as they won 6-0.
The next matchup was a closer contest. Adam Kovac and Wojciech Szczensky of Toledo gave the Bucs a battle for the final spot in the event. The Bucs eventually moved on to the finals with a score of 6-4.
The other Bucs duo of Juan Lombisano (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Juan Sebastian Zabala (Guayaquil, Ecuador) went 1-2 in doubles competition, giving the Bucs a combined record of 4-2 in doubles play for the event.
The Bucs faced Jagger Saylor and Patrick Fletchall of Indiana in the final match of the event. The Bucs squad had all of the momentum going into the matchup, and they did not slow down as they captured the title in a 6-3 win over their opponent.
The Bucs also found some success in the singles bracket over the course of the event. Zabala and Lamas both claimed two victories apiece. Zabala won his two matches (1-6, 7-5, 10-2) and (5-7, 7-5, 10-5), while Lamas won his (7-5, 6-1) and (7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 10-5). The fourth Buc to represent ETSU at the event, Lombisano, earned one win in singles play (6-4, 6-4). The Bucs ended their singles campaign 6-8 in the event.
The Bucs will look to keep their momentum going when they return to play in Blacksburg, Virginia, for the Hokie Halloween Clash on Oct. 29.
