CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A trio of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men advanced to the round of 16 at the Contender CrossFit Islander Open and both Islander women competing in the event advanced to Saturday's women's quarterfinals as the Blue and Green produced a strong showing to open 2017.
Newcomer
Francois Kellerman picked up a 6-4, 6-0 victory in his first match of the day to move into the round of 16. After a bye in the opening round, Kellerman knocked off Caleb Dyer from Southland rival UIW to move into Saturday's main draw.
Junior
Carlos Pedrosa Cuevas made it a pair of Islanders in the round of 16 with a victory over Zane Kohrs from UTRGV. Like Kellerman, Pedrosa enjoyed a first-round bye before rolling past Kohrs 6-0, 6-3. Pedrosa will face Gabriel Evans of UIW on Saturday morning for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The third Islander in the round of 16 is sophomore
William Mottet, who advanced after a 3-1 start to his lone match of the day before his opponent retired.
Newcomer
Daiki Tanabe claimed a 6-1, 6-4 victory to open the day and his tenure as an Islander. Tanabe downed Leon Hein of UTSA in the opening round, but could not replicate his success in the second round as he fell into the consolation draw after a 4-6, 3-6 defeat.
Like Tanabe,
Okkie Kellerman also split a pair of matches in singles action, defeating Lamar's Lukas Grubelnig, 6-4, 7-6 (4), before falling to Sebastian Mortier in the second round.
Jonathan Christie found a similar storyline, winning 6-1, 7-6 (2) in his first match before falling into Saturday's consolation draw.
DOUBLE THE QUARTERFINALS
In men's doubles action, the Islanders saw two pairings advance into Saturday's quarterfinals as the Kellerman twins enjoyed a first-round bye before rolling to a 6-2 victory to cap their first day as Islanders. The Kellermans knocked off Hein and King from UTSA in the second round to make their way to the quarterfinals.
Mottet and Pedrosa also worked into the quarterfinals with a 6-2 victory over UTSA. The Islander duo bested Borunda and Postinger from the Roadrunners to earn a spot in Saturday's main draw. Mottet and Pedrosa will face Bendana and Vander Heiden from UIW on Saturday morning.
WINNING WOMEN
In the women's draw, both Islanders advanced into Saturday's quarterfinals with victories on Friday.
Sophomore
Louise Trigona rolled to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Sonia Madronal from UTSA to make her way into the quarterfinals. Trigona benefitted from a first round bye before knocking off Madronal. In Saturday's quarterfinal, Trigona will face another Roadrunner in Ivana Ilic.
Marina Vicens Miquel joined Trigona in the quarterfinals with a pair of victories in Friday's action. Vicens Miquel romped to a 6-1, 6-2 victory in the opening round over Stacy Lackey from Prairie View. In the day's second round of singles, Vicens Miquel earned a 6-4 victory in the first set and was leading 5-3 in the second when her opponent retired. Vicens Miquel will face Matea Zemunik of UIW in the quarterfinals.
In doubles, the two Islanders paired for a 6-4 victory in the opening round, but suffered a 6-4 defeat in the quarterfinals.
SATURDAY SLATE
The Contender CrossFit Islander Open continues Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
MOORE'S MIND
On the first day of the tournament…
"We're so grateful to Contender CrossFit for making this tournament possible and helping us bring an officially sanctioned ITA tournament to Corpus Christi. This is just a fantastic event for our team, university and the city of Corpus Christi. Today was a fantastic day with top-notch college tennis and some very strong teams.
"I believe Corpus Christi is the best tennis community in the nation and today was a great example why with Hester's Café delivering amazing food, H-E-B Tennis Center opening their facility to us and all the Islander staff who work so hard to put on this tournament. It was a great day with a lot of great people. "
On the team's performance…
I thought our teams competed very hard and really made the choice to be a true team today with the way they stuck together and encouraged each other. We have a lot to improve on which these type of events expose. We're excited to come back tomorrow and have a chance to improve."
