Men's Tennis Falls Short at Racquet Club Invitational
October 15, 2007 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 15, 2007
LUBBOCK, Texas - Participating in one of the toughest tournaments of the fall, Texas Tech men's tennis players couldn't quite match last year's performance at the 2007 Racquet Club Invitational in Midland, Texas. The team had three players go head-to-head against some of the top collegiate players in the country.
Tech had three players compete in the main draw of singles. Defending champion Bojan Szumanski started off strong as he took down Justin Raitl of St. Edwards, 6-3, 6-3, and UCLA's Mike Look, 6-2, 6-3, in the first two rounds. Christian Rojmar suffered a first round loss to UCLA's Nick Melster, 6-2, 6-4, but had a better run in consolation play going 1-1. Meeting Szumanski in the quarterfinals was teammate Ilya Babinciuc, who tabbed in wins over Dmitry Minkin of Texas-Arlington, 6-3, 6-4, and Arizona's Bruno Alcala 6-2, 6-3.
The anticipated match between the two Red Raiders was put on hold as a wrist injury by Szumanski forced him to default the match. Babinciuc continued on to represent his team, taking down Chris Chirco of Texas A&M in straight sets. Advancing to the finals for the second tournament in a row, Babincuic was unable to push himself passed Texas' Kellen Damico, falling 7-5, 6-1.
Doubles play included Tech's No. 10-ranked duo of Rojmar and Szumanski, who entered the 16-team bracket as one of the top seeds. The pair rolled by Boise State's Brent Werbeck and Paul Koenke, 8-1, but was forced to default the second round to Arizona due to injury.
Next the team will travel to participate at the ITA Regionals held in Austin, Texas beginning on Sat., Oct. 20. For more information and complete results of the Midland Racquet Club Invite, visit www.itatennis.com.
