Duke Opens Season With Eight Singles Victories

Friday, September 19

Athens, Ga.

All Day

Duke University

Day One

Duke Opens Season With Eight Singles Victories

9/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

ATHENS, GA. ? The Blue Devils won eight of its 11 singles matches on the first day of the Southern Intercollegiate Championships Friday in Athens, Ga.

“Overall it was an awesome day and a great start to the season,” said first year head coach Ramsey Smith. “We won eight singles matches with two losses coming in tight third sets. Jared (Pinsky) lost his second match after playing a three-set match earlier in the day. The guys played hard and competed exceptionally well today.”

In the Division I singles bracket, sophomore Jared Pinsky opened the day with a come-from-behind victory in three sets over Florida's Eric Corace 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Pinsky moved on to face the No. 5 seed in the tournament, Georgia Tech's Guillermo Gomez, in the round of 64 but suffered a 6-3, 6-2 loss.

Junior Aaron Carpenter claimed two victories on Friday. He cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Lander's Juan Manrique in the Division III round of 64. Carpenter advances to the round of 32 where he will go up against Charlotte's Mortiz Bernhoerster.

Reid Carleton, a sophomore who is ranked No. 39 in the nation and the No. 6 seed in the tournament, downed Vanderbilt's Bryan Salcedo 6-4, 6-4.

Freshmen Torsten Wietoska and Luke Marchese each earned victories in their first collegiate tennis matches. Wietoska defeated Jerry Sundgren of Morehead State 6-4, 6-1, in the Division I bracket. Marchese competed in the Division II draw and won 6-1, 6-3 against Daniel Knause of Furman.

“Both freshmen looked great,” said Smith. “Usually there are some nerves in their first collegiate match but both played really well.”

Sophomore Alain Michel won a pair of tiebreakers in his round of 64 match against Jack Roux of USC-Upstate in the Division II bracket. He claimed the first set 7-6 (5) and then closed off the win with a 7-6 (1) win in the second set. Michel moves on to the round of 32 where he will face South Florida's Romain DeRidder on Saturday. Christopher Price also won his Division II opening match in straight sets. He downed Henrik Willers of Lander 6-4, 6-4 to advance. Next up will be Alex DiValerio of Vanderbilt who earned a bye in the first two rounds.

In the Division III bracket, David Lue earned a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Stewart McRae of UT-Martin. He moves on to the round of 16.

Kiril Dimitrov and Dylan Arnould each suffered first round losses in three sets. Dimitrov, who is ranked No. 103 in the country, lost a close match to a higher-ranked No. 75 Nicolas Delgado DeRobles of Virginia Tech 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-5. Arnould fell to Ryan Smith of Georgia Tech in a third set tiebreaker 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (2).

Three doubles teams were in action for the Blue Devils with two earning victories. Dimitrov and Michel defeated Dean O'Brien and Josh Girling of Tennessee Tech, 8-2. Arnould and Wietoska claimed an 8-6 win over Renzo Airaldi and Javier Tori of USC-Upstate. The team of Carleton and Price lost to Wake Forest's Jason Morgenstern and Jon Wolff, 8-5.

The tournament is being hosted by the University of Georgia at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Singles and doubles action will continue on Saturday with the bracket finals on Sunday.

Duke

Division Round Result

I 128 Jared Pinsky (Duke) def. Eric Corace (Florida), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

I 64 Ryan Smith (Georgia Tech) def. Dylan Arnould (Duke), 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(2)

I 64 Torsten Wietoska (Duke) def. Jerry Sundgren (Morehead State), 6-4, 6-1

I 64 Reid Carleton (Duke-39-6) def. Bryan Salcedo (Vanderbilt), 6-4, 6-4

I 64 Nicolas Delgado DeRobles (Virginia Tech-75) def. Kiril Dimitrov (Duke-103), 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-5

I 64 Guillermo Gomez (Georgia Tech-33-5) def. Jared Pinsky (Duke), 6-3, 6-2

II 64 Alain Michel (Duke) def. Jack Roux (USC-Upstate), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1)

II 64 Luke Marchese (Duke) def. Daniel Knause (Furman), 6-1, 6-3

II 64 Chris Price (Duke) def. Willers (Lander), 6-4, 6-4

III 64 Aaron Carpenter (Duke) def. Juan Manrique (Lander), 6-2, 6-2

III 32 David Lue (Duke) def. Stewart McRae (UT-Martin), 6-1, 6-3

III 32 Aaron Carpenter (Duke) def. Mortiz Bernhorster (Charlotte), 6-3, 6-3

I                       32                Kiril Dimotrov/Alain Michel (Duke) def. Dean O'Brien/Josh Girlling (Tennessee Tech), 8-2
I                       32                Jason Morgenstern/Jon Wolff (Wake Forest) def. Reid Carleton/Chris Price (Duke-36-3), 8-5
I                       32                Dylan Arnould/Torsten Wietoska (Duke) def. Renzo Airaldi/Javier Tori (USC-Upstate), 8-6