WACO, Texas - Baylor men's tennis junior Diego Galeano recorded two upsets on Monday at the Hurd Tennis Center to earn a spot in the singles final of the USTA/ITA Regional Championships.
The ninth-seeded Galeano opened his day with a three-set victory over 11th-ranked Jeremy Efferding of Texas A&M. Galeano got off to a fast start claiming a 6-2 first-set victory. Efferding fought back in the second set winning by a score of 6-1, but it would not be enough as Galeano closed out the match with a 6-1 third-set victory.
The win for Galeano set up a semifinal round match against fourth-seeded and 60th-ranked teammate Mate Zsiga.
Zsiga started his day by downing fifth-seeded and 78th-ranked Junior Ore of Texas A&M, 6-4, 6-4.
In the semifinal round, Galeano again jumped out to a quick lead claiming the first set 6-3 before Zsiga was able to claim a 6-1 second-set victory. Galeano eventually clinched his spot in the final by claiming a 7-6(4) tiebreak victory in the third set.
In doubles play, Galeano and Zsiga make up the country's 22nd-ranked pairing. The duo was unable to get past the No. 1 seeded and third-ranked Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow of Texas A&M, falling by a score of 8-3, in the semifinal of the doubles draw.
For the latest information on the Baylor men's tennis team, follow the team on Twitter: @BaylorMTennis.
TOP QUOTE 1:
"One of the great things about the event here is that it is full of good players. This is one of the stronger regions in the country and you can see that the depth is really outstanding. There have been great guys to play and it has been amazing practice for our guys. I think our guys did a pretty good job. They competed hard and you can clearly see that some guys are getting better and that is a lot of fun." - head coach Matt Knoll
TOP QUOTE 2:
"It was a good day for Zsiga and Diego. We were happy for both of them to get through their matches this morning against good opponents and you couldn't ask for more in that match that they played against each other. It was dead even in the third and could have gone either way. I thought both guys competed really well and represented themselves well. Diego has a chance to win in the final and that is special. He will be a big underdog against Shane Vinsant. Hopefully he can get himself together and make a good run at it tomorrow." - head coach Matt Knoll
WHAT'S NEXT?
Diego Galeano will be the only Baylor player in action on Tuesday as he takes on third-seeded and 56th-ranked Shane Vinsant of Texas A&M, who upset top-seeded and 10th-ranked Soren Hess-Olesen of Texas in his semifinal round matchup Monday. The singles finale will begin at 9 a.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center. The event is free and open to the public.
For the latest draws and completed scores visit: http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=140566
