Action Gets Underway in Athens, Ga.
ATHENS, Ga. – A duo of University of Miami men’s tennis student-athletes advanced through to the Round of 16 Friday afternoon, as action got underway in the Qualifying Draw at the ITA Southeast Regional Presented by Oracle.
Competing on the Dan Magill Tennis Complex courts, Tatsuki Shimamoto took on Joe Ellis of North Florida after receiving a first-round bye. The sophomore quickly took care of business against Ellis, earning a 6-4, 6-3 straight-set victory.
Shimamoto will return to the courts Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m., when he battles UCF’s Vasyl Kiselyov.
Facing off against Florida’s Greysen Cacciatore in the Round of 32, junior Stephen Madonia dropped the opening set, 3-6. After regrouping in the second and third sets, Madonia claimed a hard-fought victory, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, to advance to the Round of 16.
Saturday at 8:30 a.m., the Bradenton, Fla., native will take on Georgia Tech’s Brandon Freestone.
Sophomore Pablo Aycart Joya opened the day with a first-round match against Georgia State’s Kevin Huynh. In a back-and-forth opening set, Aycart Joya came up short in the tiebreaker, 6-7 (6-8), before dropping the second set, 1-6.
Receiving first round byes, freshman Franco Aubone and sophomore William Grattan-Smith opened up play in the Round of 32 against Georgia State’s Bailey Showers and FGCU’s Feliksas Sakalauskas, respectively. The former fell, 2-6, 2-6, while the latter came up short, 7-5, 2-6, 2-6.
Redshirt junior Dane Dunlap, sophomores Adria Soriano Barrera and Bojan Jankulovski and freshmen Francisco Bastias and Kaya Gore earned automatic bids into the Main Draw event and are set to kick off tournament action Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
Bastias will open the morning against Florida State’s Richard Thongoana at 8:30 a.m. Jankulovski will begin play at 11 a.m. against Florida State’s Sebastian Arcila at 11 a.m., while Gore will challenge Georgia Southern’s Stefano Di Aloy.
Dunlap will close out the first round of the Main Draw at 12:30 p.m., when the redshirt junior faces FGCU’s Felipe Ramirez.
With Soriano earning a first-round bye, the sophomore will wait until Sunday at 9:30 a.m. to see singles action, when he will face Florida Atlantic’s Jason Legall.
Doubles action will get underway Saturday afternoon with Madonia and Grattan-Smith teaming up against Georgia State’s Quentin Couland and Huynh at 4 p.m. Simultaneously, Aycart and Shimamoto will face UCF’s Vasyl Kiselyov and Mikhail Sokolovskiy.
Aubone and Dunlap have earned a first-round bye and will match up against FAU’s Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia at 4:30 p.m.
Overall, play will resume each morning, with the finals of each draw–main singles, main doubles, consolation singles and consolation doubles–the only contests scheduled for Tuesday.
The singles and doubles victors earn an automatic berth into the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, held Nov. 7-11 in Surprise, Ariz.
To keep up with the University of Miami tennis team on social media, follow @CanesMensTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Friday, Oct. 19
Qualifying Singles Round of 64
Kevin Huynh (GSU) def. Pablo Aycart Joya (Miami), 7-6 (6), 6-1
Stephen Madonia (Miami) vs. bye
Franco Aubone (Miami) vs. bye
Tatsuki Shimamoto (Miami) vs. bye
William Grattan-Smith (Miami) vs. bye
Qualifying Singles Round of 32
Stephen Madonia (Miami) def. Greysen Cacciatore (Florida), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
Bauley Showers (GSU) def. Franco Aubone (Miami), 6-2, 6-2
Tatsuki Shimamoto (Miami) def. Joe Ellis (UNF), 6-4, 6-3
Feliksas Sakalauskas def. William Grattan-Smith (Miami), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
Saturday, Oct. 20
Qualifying Singles Round of 16
8:30 a.m. – Tatsuki Shimamoto (Miami) vs. Vasyl Kiselyov (UCF)
8:30 a.m. – Stephen Madonia (Miami) vs. Cole Gronley (Georgia Tech)
Main Draw Singles Round of 64
8:30 a.m. – Francisco Bastias (Miami) vs. Richard Thongoana (FSU)
11 a.m. – Bojan Jankulovski (Miami) vs. Sebastian Arcila (FSU)
11 a.m. – Kaya Gore (Miami) vs. Stefano Di Aloy (G. Southern)
12:30 p.m. – Dane Dunlap (Miami) vs. Felipe Ramirez (FGCU)
Adria Soriano Barrera (Miami) vs. Bye
Main Draw Doubles Round of 64
4 p.m. – Aycart Joya/Shimamoto (Miami) vs. Kiselyov/Sokolovskiy (UCF)
4 p.m. – Grattan-Smith/Madonia (Miami) vs. Coulaud, Huynh (GSU)
Main Draw Doubles Round of 32
4:30 p.m. – Aubone/Dunlap (Miami) vs. Garcia/Legall (FAU)
5:30 p.m. – Gore/Soriano (Miami) vs. Round of 64 Winner
5:30 p.m. – Bastias/Jankulovski (Miami) vs. Round of 64 Winner
Sunday, Oct. 21
8:00 a.m. Singles Consolation Round 1
9:30 a.m. Main Draw Singles Round 2
followed by Singles Consolation Round 2
followed by Main Draw Singles Round 3
followed by Main Draw Doubles Round 3
Monday, Oct. 22
10 a.m. Main Draw Singles Quarterfinals
Singles Consolation Quarterfinals
followed by Main Draw Singles Semifinals
Singles Consolation Semifinals
followed by Main Draw Doubles Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Oct. 23
9 a.m. Main Draw Singles Final
Singles Consolation Final
ASAP Main Draw Doubles Semifinals
followed by Main Draw
Tournament Format Notes…
– No-ad scoring in both singles and doubles
– In doubles competition, matches prior to the semifinals will consist of an 8-game pro set (tiebreaker at 7-all), with the semifinals and finals doubles matches consisting of two out of three sets to 6, with a match tiebreak in lieu of the third set.
