Aggie men fight hard at ITA's
ABILENE, Texas (October 3) – The Cameron Aggie men’s tennis team traveled to Abilene, Texas this weekend to participate in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional championships. After a couple of injuries and setbacks, the Aggies were able to finish the tournament with two players in the Sweet 16 of the singles draw and a doubles team in the Elite Eight.
Cameron competes in the south-central region of the tournament which is described as one of the toughest sections in the nation. The ITA-Regional tournament is by far the most important team and individual tournament for the fall season. The tournament consists of 64 players in the singles draw and 32 teams in the doubles draw.
Cameron contributed with 6 players for this year’s tournament and was represented by: Thomas Peixoto, Diego Troiano, Daniel Bonamigo, Jorge Gerosi, Manuel Barroetavena and Jeff Sasser.
“The men’s ITA-Regional tournament has always been known for being very deep and strong,” Head Coach James Helvey said. “This year’s draw was not a different story.”
The tournament started early on Friday morning. Sophomore Peixoto was first on court and quickly dismissed Brandon Finerty of Southwest Baptist University (SBU) in his first round match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
Freshman Gerosi also started the tournament in a strong fashion and dominated St Mary’s University’s Nestor Moreno to book a place in the second round. Gerosi captured the match by the score of 6-0, 6-2.
Senior Troiano used his experiences from competing at a collegiate level and rapidly placed himself in the second round of the tournament. Troiano defeated Tyler Welch of SBU by the score of 6-2, 6-2. Bonamigo, Sasser and Barroetavena competed well in their first round singles matches but were all unable to capture a win.
“The guys played and represented us well,” Coach Helvey said. “This was good experience for our new guys. We have to continue working hard and the results will come.”
After only a couple hours of rest, the men were in action again. Peixoto kept momentum at high and showed tremendous commitment and desire as he won his second round match in a third set tiebreak over Abilene Christian University’s (ACU) Brett Proctor. Peixoto lost the first set, but fought his way back into the match to place himself in the Sweet 16 of the tournament. The final score was 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.
Gerosi had a similar second round match. After long rallies throughout three tough sets, the freshman rolled his ankle when chasing a ball. In addition to this incident, Gerosi suffered severe leg cramps but still managed to win the match in a third set tiebreak over East Central University’s Sam Moore. The final score was 6-7, 6-4, 10-7.
“Jorge showed tremendous commitment out there and that says a lot about him,” Coach Helvey said. “He is unfortunately injured now and needs to recover and heal.”
Unfortunately, Troiano had to see his singles tournament come to an end in the round of 32 when he lost to Jose Arizpe of the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW). The match was well played and entertaining, but in the end Arizpe proved to be the stronger player. The final score was 6-4, 7-5.
On Saturday morning, Gerosi took on ACU’s John Strahl. Gerosi was never able to fully recover from his injury and Strahl was able to win the match in straight sets. Final score was 6-2, 7-5.
Peixoto suffered a similar situation in his round of 16’s match. After losing the first set to St Edward’s University’s, Brett Powers, Peixoto was up 4-1 in the second set where he too rolled his ankle. Although he was in pain, the talented CU player continued to play but could not refocus and lost in a second set tiebreak. The final score was 6-4, 7-6.
In doubles, the duo of Troiano and Peixoto won their first two doubles matches in decisive fashion to place themselves in the Elite Eight. In their quarter-final match, the CU team took on MSU’s #1 doubles team. In a very well played match, Peixoto and Troiano did not convert on the key points which were crucial to the outcome of the match. The MSU team won the match by the score of 6-4, 7-6.
“Overall I am pleased with the results of this weekend,” Coach Helvey said. “We are still in the process of rebuilding this team from our success in previous years and I think we are off to a good start. Both the returning and new guys played well, but we have a lot of work ahead of us to get ready for the LSC tournament.”
The Aggie men’s tennis team next competes in the Lone Star Conference Individual Championship tournament on October 9-10. The annual LSC event will close out the fall season for the Aggies.
