Philadelphia, Pa. –The Niagara men's tennis team traveled to Philadelphia to compete in the ITA Regionals hosted by Penn. The tournament runs from Friday to Sunday.
Tanner Bedard and Trevor Masi were the first Purple Eagles in action as they started the weekend at 9 AM on Friday in the round of 64 in doubles. The duo of Purple Eagles advanced to the round of 32 with a 8-2 win in the opening round.
Later in the morning the duo was back in action as they faced a team from Penn. The Purple Eagles were tested in the round of 32 but prevailed with a 8-6 win to advance to the round of 16. The doubles team is back in action Saturday morning at 9 am as they take on a team from St. Francis (PA) with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
Vid Maric and Roberto Vaca once again teamed up in doubles as they took on a team from Rider. The Purple Eagles won six games but could not defeat their MAAC counterparts as they fell 8-6 in the round of 64.
Manuel Alonso and Gurustat Makkar are no strangers as a pair after being named All-MAAC in 2022-23, the duo once again paired up for ITA Regionals. The duo drew a team from Binghamton and ultimately fell 8-5 in the opening round.
In singles Alonso drew the eighth seed in the round of 128. He was matched up against Daniils Snaiders from Buffalo. Alonso fell in the opening set 6-3, in the second set he forced a third set as he won 7-6 by taking the tiebreaking 7-5. In the third set, the graduate student could earn the win as he fell in the third set, 6-2.
Bedard took the momentum from doubles into his singles match as he drew the 43rd seed and faced Marc Blekham from Lehigh. Bedard earned the win in straight sets as he won 6-3 in the first set and 6-2 in the second set. He will face Felipe Pinzon from Cornell in the round of 64 on Saturday.
Bryce Bodak drew the 65th seed in singles was face Alessandro Danna from Long Island. Bodak fell in the opening set 6-3 and could not force a third set as he fell 6-2 in the second set.
Masi fresh off two doubles wins drew the 73rd seed in the round of 128 and face Alvaro Nunez from Le Moyne. In the opening set, Masi took the 1-0 lead with a 6-2 win. Masi secured the sweep with a 6-2 win in the second set.
Makkar drew the 93rd seed in singles and face Christof Zeiler from Monmouth. Makkar fell in the opening set 6-4 but looked to force a third set. Makkar did just that in the second set as he won 6-4 to force the tie breaker. In the third set the two went to a tie breaker as they were tied 6-6. In the tie breaker, Makkar fell 7-3.
The Purple Eagles are back in action on Saturday as doubles moves to the round of 16 and singles move to the round of 64.
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