Slesarev Tops Three Seed in UVA Invitational
September 15, 2008 | Men's Tennis
Junior Evgeny Slesarev turned some heads at the UVA Fall
Invitational by defeating Columbia's third seeded Jonathan Wong in
straight sets (6-4, 6-1). Wong is the ITA #111 nationally ranked
player in the nation.
The Gardner-Webb men's tennis team opened play last weekend with
two representatives, Evgeny Slesarev and Andrew Veeder, competing
at the UVA Fall Invitational. Both players are #1 and #2
respectfully for the Bulldogs.
Team Captain Evgeny Slesarev wasted no time in his first match,
downing Columbia's Jonathan Wong 6-4, 6-1. Wong was the third seed
at the tournament and is also ranked #111 nationally in the ITA
pole. "This was a big win for Evgeny," coach Griffith said. "To
defeat the number three seed like that is saying something and I
just hope people notice what I have been saying about this kid all
along."
Slesarev later fell in the second round after having to retire due
to some complications. In his second round match, he lost the first
set 5-7, and was losing 4-5 in the second set before having to
retire. "The heat was an obvious factor," head coach Mike Griffith
commented. "I could tell that something was wrong as I was watching
Evgeny play. It seemed as if something was bothering him, and as it
turned the heat got to him. It was a tough break for him, but he
will learn from this and hopefully do better the next time
out."
Sophomore Andrew Veeder also competed in singles competition on
Friday. GWU's #2 didn't fare as well as the #1, falling in the
first round of the singles B flight (6-3, 6-2) to Filip Kricka of
Stetson.
The two also teamed up for doubles competition, but they fell in
the first round (8-6) to a team from Nebraska.
"Both guys did o.k. for only having one week of practice under
their belts," said Griffith. "Although things didn't turn out the
way we all had hoped, this was a big step forward for our
program."
The entire men's tennis team will be competing next weekend, Sept.
19-20, in the Furman Tournament in Greenville, S.C.
Participating Schools
Binghamton
Columbia
East Tennessee State
Eastern Kentucky
Elon
Gardner-Webb
George Washington
Georgetown
James Madison
Longwood
Nebraska
Stetson
VCU
Virginia Tech
William & Mary
Ranked Singles Players Participating
67. David Bendheim (Nebraska)
75. Houston Barrick (Virginia)
82. Sanam Singh (Virginia)
104. Michael Shabaz (Virginia)
111. Jonathan Wong (Columbia)
123. Calin Paar (Nebraska)
124. Keziel Juneau (William & Mary)
