KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The Allegheny College men's tennis team opened play at the 2017 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regionals hosted by Kalamazoo College Friday (Sept. 29).
In the opening round of the singles draw, the Gators went 2-0.
Colton Johnson Taylor was up first against North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) foe Matthew Gittings of Oberlin College. Johnson Taylor controlled the pace throughout, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Jai Redkar took on Mark Vanderstoep of Hope College in the opening round. Redkar picked up a 6-3 win in the opening set before the second set went to a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Vanderstoept was able to break, taking it 7-5 and setting up a decisive third set. The third set was tight but Redkar was able to break as he took it 6-4 to advance to the round of 64.
In the round of 64, Johnson Taylor faced Mitchell Thai of Denison University. Thai, the ninth-seed in the tournament, won 6-1, 6-1.
In his second match, Redkar faced 17
th-seed Nicholas Paoluccio of Kenyon College. The sets were closely battled but Paoluccio escaped with a 6-4, 6-4 win.
In doubles action, Redkar and
Cooper Miller teamed up to take on Austin Diehl and Jake Zalenski of Kenyon. Diehl and Zalenski were seeded third in the bracket. The Kenyon duo won 8-4.
In the consolation match, Redkar and Miller faced Sean Carroll and Jack Monovich of Depauw University. After going back-and-forth throughout the match, the Gator duo broke late to take it 9-7.
The Gators continue action at the ITAs Saturday (Sept. 30).
