Slesarev Eliminated in Round of 32 at ITA Mideast Regional Championships
October 18, 2008 | Men's Tennis
Junior Evgeny Slesarev won his first match on
Saturday morning, but was eliminated later that day after falling
in the Round of 32 of the ITA Mideast Regional Championships.
Slesarev woke early Saturday morning to play Alex Ahlgren of ETSU in the Round of 64. Slesarev fought hard in the match and was able to come away with a three-set win (5-7, 6-2, 7-5) over Ahlgren to advance to the Round of 32.
Slesarev's opponent in the next round was (14)Kiril Dmitrov of Duke. The two were scheduled to play at 2 PM, just hours after their first matches of the day. Dmitrov was able to gain a little more rest than Slesarev, as he downed his opponent 6-1, 6-1 in the Round of 64.
Dmitrov took the first set 6-3, but Slesarev didn't go down easily. Instead, he forced a tie break in the second set and was able to fight off two match points before eventually falling 6-3, 7-6(3) to the fourteenth seeded Dmitrov.
"Evgeny played some intense matches today", Coach Griffith said. "He fought hard and looked impressive, and this only aids in his progress to become better." Griffith went onto say, "I am happy with the results. Evgeny is a great player and hopefully we can mimic this type of play during the season."
