Wright State, UIC Advance in Horizon League Men's Tennis Championships; Butler, Detroit Move on in Women's Championships

Horizon League Tennis Championship Brackets

INDIANAPOLIS -- Wright State and UIC advanced to semifinal matches in the Horizon League Men's Tennis Championships with victories on Thursday afternoon at North Central High School.  The No. 3 Raiders knocked off sixth-seeded Youngstown State, 4-3, while the No. 4 seed UIC survived against No. 5 Butler, 4-3.  On the women's side of the bracket, No. 3 Butler breezed past No. 6 Milwaukee, 4-0, while fifth-seeded Detroit upset No. 4 Wright State, 4-1.

In the men's tournament, Wright State will meet No. 2 Green Bay on Friday, while the Flames will take on top-seeded Cleveland State in the other semifinal.  The women's side sees No. 1 UIC battle No. 5 Detroit; second-seeded Cleveland State and No. 3 Butler tangle at 2:30 p.m. ET.

The Raiders breezed to the doubles point in their match, before Youngstown State rallied in singles play to take the contest to the final match.  At No. 1, Tariq Ismail forced the final match, picking up the win with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 victory.  However, with the match tied at three, Martin Arguello came through with a 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 win to clinch the result.

Like Wright State, UIC picked up the doubles point over Butler before holding on in singles play.  The Bulldogs knotted the match with Lenz Theodor's win at No. 5, and with Brandon Bayliss having not lost a singles match in Horizon League action, Butler appeared to be in good shape to take four singles matches and pick up the win.

However, Alex Raa rallied after dropping the first set to Bayliss, sending the match to a third set with a 6-2 win.  The Co-Newcomer of the Year then took the third, 6-2, to give UIC the win and send the Flames to the semifinals.

In the first semifinal, Butler coasted past Milwaukee, 4-0, as the Panthers were hampered without League Newcomer of the Year Maddy Soule.  The Bulldogs dropped just seven games in their three singles victories. Natali Jaimes led the way for Butler, collecting a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 1.

Detroit picked up the lone upset of the opening round, dominating throughout in a 4-1 victory over No. 4 Wright State.   After picking up the doubles point, Carolina Salas led the Titans with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles; Julia Fernandes and Erin Weldon followed with triumphs at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively, to send Detroit to the League semifinals.

(3) Wright State 4, (6) Youngstown State 3
Horizon League Men's Tennis Championships | Indianapolis
Doubles:
No. 1 – Jan Alafriz/Brian Dredge (WSU) def. Tariq Ismail/Max Schmerin (YSU) 8-3
No. 2 – Landon Neuman/Evan Neuman (WSU) vs. Felipe Rosa/Rodrigo Campos (YSU) 7-3 DNF
No. 3 – Michal Lyzwa/Hayden Joblin (WSU) def. Zeeshan Ismail/Rob Emig (YSU) 8-3

Singles:
No. 1 – Tariq Ismail (YSU) def. Jan Alafriz (WSU) 6-2, 6-7, 6-3
No. 2 – Hayden Joblin (WSU) def. Felipe Rosa (YSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 – Martin Arguello (WSU) def. Max Schmerin (YSU) 6-7, 7-5, 6-2
No. 4 – Zeeshan Ismail (YSU) def. Landon Neuman (WSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
No. 5 – Rodrigo Campos (YSU) def. Michal Lyzwa (WSU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 – Riyad Bennoui (WSU) def. Rob Emig (YSU) 6-4, 6-4

(4) UIC 4, (5) Butler 3
Horizon League Men's Tennis Championships | Indianapolis
Doubles:
No. 1 – Alex Raa/Dave Robare (UIC) def. Chris Herron/Stephen McLoughlin (BU) 8-5
No. 2 – Alan Reifer/Scott Shepardson (UIC) def. Brandon Bayliss/Lenz Theodor (BU) 8-3
No. 3 – Luiz Gonzaga/Rahul Kamath (UIC) vs. Zach Ervin/Ben Shafer (BU) 5-4 DNF

Singles:
No. 1 – Alex Raa (UIC) def. Brandon Bayliss (BU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 – Chris Herron (BU) def. Luiz Gonzaga (UIC) 6-4, 6-0
No. 3 – Zach Ervin (BU) def. James Li (UIC) 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 – Dave Robare (UIC) def. Stephen McLoughlin (BU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 – Lenz Theodor (BU) def. Alan Reifer (UIC) 7-5, 6-1
No. 6 – Gautham Oroskar (UIC) def. Ben Shafer (BU) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: Doubles – 1, 2.  Singles – 4, 6, 3, 2, 5, 1

(3) Butler 4, (6) Milwaukee 0
Horizon League Women's Tennis Championships | Indianapolis
Doubles:
No. 1 – Stephanie McLoughlin/Gabrielle Rubenstein (BU) vs. Kelly Fritz/Sammi Schoen (UWM) DNF
No. 2 – Gabriella Bobrowski/Brittany Farmer (BU) def. Brittany Skemp/Megan Goq (UWM) 8-0
No. 3 – Cam Thompson/Angelina Qin (BU) def. Beth Ganser/Kristin Kurer (UWM) 8-2

Singles:
No. 1 – Natali Jaimes (BU) def. Kelly Fritz (UWM) 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 – Caroline Hedrick (BU) vs. Sammi Schoen (UWM) 6-2, 4-3 DNF
No. 3 – Stephanie McLoughlin (BU) vs. Kristin Kurer (UWM) 6-3, 4-3 DNF
No. 4 – Gabriella Bobrowski (BU) vs. Megan Gow (UWM) 7-5, 0-2 DNF
No. 5 – Gabrielle Rubenstein (BU) def. Beth Ganser (UWM) 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 – Brittany Farmer (BU) def. Mary Ellen Donovan (UWM) 6-0, 6-2

(5) Detroit 4, (4) Wright State 1
Horizon League Women's Tennis Championships | Indianapolis
Doubles:
No. 1 – Amanda Cornwell/Carolina Salas (UDM) def. Masha Peresetsky/Kenisha Webb (WSU), 8-2
No. 2 – Raina Halabi/Elena Strakhova (UDM) def. Kayla Tuscany/Taylor Hines (WSU), 8-4
No. 3 – Amy Nini/Lizzy Clark (WSU) def. Erin Weldon/Julia Fernandes (UDM), 9-8(4)

Singles:
No. 1 – Kayla Tuscany (WSU) def. Amanda Cornwell (UDM) 6-4, 6-0
No. 2 – Carolina Salas (UDM) def. Masha Peresetsky (WSU) 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 – Elena Strakhova (UDM) vs. Kenisha Webb (WSU) 7-6 (1), 3-3 DNF
No. 4 – Julia Fernandes (UDM) def. Amy Nini (WSU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 – Erin Weldon (UDM) def. Taylor Hines (WSU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 6 – Mallanie Capuano (UDM) vs. Chelsea Girgash (WSU) 6-4, 4-1 DNF