By: Isabel Smith ~Staff Writer~
Men’s tennis performed strongly in the recent Greater Cincinnati Collegiate Invitational Sept. 18 and 19 in Mason, Ohio. The tournament, hosted by Dayton and Northern Kentucky, featured Cincinnati, Morehead State, Furman, Wright State, Case Western Reserve, Chicago, West Virginia State, Valparaiso and St. Francis (Pa.).
Xavier opened the first day of play with solid accomplishments. The Musketeers finished the day with four wins and one loss in singles. Sophomore Gabriel Chaves Araujo took the win against Morehead State’s Nick Mercer 7-5, 5-7 (7) and then recorded a loss against Furman’s Alex Steryous 6-4, 6-2. Following his impressive debut with Xavier a couple of weeks ago, freshman Jack Dykema did not disappoint. Dykema took out Kyle Macdonald of Dayton 6-3, 4-6 (5).
Then, the freshman defeated Cincinnati’s Michael Selin in three sets, 7-5, 2-6, 11-9. Senior Brian Carman won against Wright State’s Tyler Smith after play concluded, and he was granted a bye in his next round of play. Xavier’s strength in singles failed to translate into the doubles competition. The Musketeers recorded losses against the tournaments hosts, Dayton and Northern Kentucky. Play transferred to Eastern Hills Indoor Tennis Club Sept. 19 due to rain. The Musketeers posted a losing day, falling to Cincinnati and Case Western in singles play. Men’s tennis had a 4-3 record in singles and 0-2 in doubles.
Women’s tennis also competed in the invitational. Sophomore Abigail Roebker had a noteworthy performance, winning flight six in the tournament. She received a bye in the first round and began by beating West Virginia’s Kayla McKnight 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (11) in the semifinals. Following that victory, she defeated Valparaiso’s Morgan Paras 6-0, 6-4. Roebker closed out the flight in the championship with a win against Northern Kentucky’s Sierra Nellessen 6-3, 6-7, 1-0 (3).
Freshman Zoe Manion also had an impressive run in her flight. She made it to the championship in flight four before falling to Northern Kentucky’s Danielle Donahue, 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10). Women’s tennis had a 6-2 overall record in singles and a 0-2 record in doubles. The men’s team returns to competition Sept. 25 and 26 at the Western Michigan Invite, and the women’s team resumes play Oct. 9 and 10 at the University of Cincinnati Invitational.
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