Photo courtesy of Travis Bell | Junior Jack Dykema in tournament action at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship. He advanced to the quarterfinals over the weekend.
The Xavier men’s tennis team wrapped up its fall campaign after competing in the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship at the Goodfriend Tennis Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
The ITA invitational consisted of 25 teams with the top four players of each team as representatives.
Three freshmen competed for the Musketeers including Jan Vrba, Brett Winters and Alejandro Rodriguez-Vidal.
Head coach Doug Matthews said that this was the first time in a while that Xavier sent three freshmen to the ITA.
Winters was the sole competitor able to advance in the singles main draw, collecting a victory by defeating Lorenzo Rollhauser of Dayton by scores of 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. He was later defeated by Robert Herrera of ETSU. This was a good experience for the talented freshmen, according to Matthews.
“They were able to see the next level of talent and teams, which reinforces that they need to continue to work hard,” Matthews said.
Junior Jack Dykema was the lone upperclassman to compete this weekend, providing much-needed veteran experience.
After dropping matches on Friday, Vrba and Dykema both competed in the consolation bracket on Saturday. Vrba came up short in the first round being defeated by Jorge Alfonzo of Tennessee State, while Dykema was able to reach the quarter finals but fell to Tate Allwardt of Vanderbilt.
Matthews commented that the team needs to “work more on doubles” in the offseason. Xavier is excited to train and improve in its short offseason.
The Musketeers will open the spring season against the Western Michigan Broncos on Jan. 12 followed by 21 more matches.
The spring season will culminate with the coveted Big East Tournament, which will be held in April.
By: Tim Kramer ~Staff Writer~
