Verdam Takes van Overbeek to Three Sets at ITA Regional Championships
10/23/2011 10:23:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Verdam defeated Reynolds 6-1, 6-2 in the opening round, setting up a matchup against the no. 58 ranked van Overbeek. Verdam fought back from a 1-4 deficit in the first set to force a tiebreaker and then rallied again in the tiebreaker, saving two set points before winning four straight points to win the set. The match lasted nearly three hours, before Verdam fell 7-6 (6), 3-6, 2-6.
Senior Alain Garrido (Vigo, Spain) and freshman Kyle Hoffman (Sarasota, Fla.) advanced to the Round of 16 in doubles, defeating Stetson's Jacobo Herrero and Erik Halaj 9-7, before falling to Georgia's Sadio Doumbia and Nathan Pasha in the Quarterfinals.
The Eagles fielded four singles players and two doubles teams at this year's regional championships, where the top players from 19 Division I schools in Georgia and Florida competed for an invitation to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships in November.
"Matthijs had a great opening round win and a three-hour battle against the no. 58 ranked player in the country," said Head Coach Nick Zieziula. "We've put in a lot of work this fall, but this weekend gives us a good idea of how much more we need to do."
The Eagles return to the courts for their final event of the fall season this Friday, October 28 when they travel to Charleston, S.C. for the Citadel Fall Invitational.
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