CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Eight members of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tennis team are headed to the quarterfinals of the 2016 Islander Open presented by Kevin W. Liles, PC – Trial Lawyer as four men and four women navigated the opening two rounds of the main draw Friday.
"This was a great day for the Corpus Christi community and a great day for our university," said Director of Tennis
Steve Moore. "I can't thank this community enough for what they pour into the event, most importantly, Kevin Liles, our title sponsor. Then you have the housing, H-E-B Tennis Center, Gerry Maingot at the Country Club, Hester's providing us food. Without these heart and soul people, this tournament doesn't happen."
Senior
Biyik Akinshemoyin provided the story of the day as he capped off singles play with a thrilling comeback in his second round match to become the fourth Islander in the men's quarterfinals. A transfer from UMBC, Akinshemoyin made the most of his first appearance as an Islander. After knocking off Gabriel Borunda in the morning round, the senior rallied from a first set loss to topple Oscar Janglin of Rice, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 10-4.
"Our team has worked incredibly hard," said Moore. "I was glad to see that work really validated today. We're a team. It's about our team being special. Having said that, two individuals who were maybe a little extra special were Biyik and Paul. They work so hard, show a lot of grit and toughness and they really came out and fought today. I'm really proud and happy for them for the breakthrough they had today."
THREE MEN JOIN AKINSHEMOYIN IN QUARTERFINALS
Along with Akinshemoyin's enthralling route to the quarterfinal, three fellow Islanders will vie for an opportunity to reach the semifinals Saturday afternoon.
• Following a first-round bye,
Kevin Bettendroffer knocked off Takeru Wantanabe of UTSA 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinal round.
•
Paul Cook will meet Bettendroffer in a battle of Islanders after he defeated Henrik Munch of Rice, 6-3, 6-3.
• Freshman
Cagatay Soke provided a strong showing, winning in straight sets in the first round before grinding out a 10-8 third set victory to reach the quarterfinals.
WOMEN OWN HALF THE QUARTERFINALS
Four Islander women will play in Saturday's quarterfinals as senior
Judit Vives, junior
Jelena Dzinic and freshman
Louise Trigona and
Maria Maldonado each navigated their way through the first two rounds of the main draw Friday.
Vives, Trigona and Maldonado each opened the morning with first-round victories while Dzinic drew a bye into the second round. Vives knocked off Carrie Casey of Sam Houston State in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, before downing Litvinova Vladislava of Northwestern State 6-5, 6-1.
Meanwhile, Trigona took down Dominique Ibarra of UTRGV in her first-round matchup by a score of 6-2, 6-4. The freshman followed that effort with a 6-2, 6-1, roll of Victoria Kareh of Incarnate Word in the second. Maldonado joined with a comeback win in the first round, rebounding to take the super tiebreaker 10-4 before settling in for a straight-set victory in the second round.
Dzinic rolled into the quarterfinals with a straight-set victory over Matea Zemunik of Incarnate Word. After a dominate 6-2 opening set, Dzinic rallied to take the final three games of the second to win 7-5.
DOUBLE DOWN DOUBLES
The Islanders continued their success in the doubles draw with a pair of men's teams and pair of women's teams reaching Saturday's semifinals.
•
Paul Cook and
Mitchell Cook wom a pair of matches, knocking off teams from Lamar and UTSA to reach the semifinals.
• Bettendroffer and Soke are on the other side of the bracket after defeating the pairing from UTRGV, making an all-Islanders final a possibility.
• On the women's side,
Alexandra Belle and
Louise Trigona won two doubles matches to reach the semifinals.
• Veterans Vives and Dzinic rolled off a pair of 6-0 wins to cruise into Saturday's semifinals.
ROUND ROBIN SUCCESS
In the round robin draw, Belle and Marina Vicens-Miquel each went 2-0. With a win in the final portion of the round robin Saturday morning, Belle and Vicens-Miquel would meet in the final of that draw.
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
The main draw quarterfinals for both men and women will begin at 9 a.m. at the Thomas J. Henry Center. Consolation matches will follow as courts become available.
Round robin play will conclude at the H-E-B Tennis Center.
