Sunday, 09/09/2012

Spir, Melian, Segura win in Division I; Rakitt, Hundal move on in Division II

Athens, Ga. –Juan Spir, Juan Melian and Eduardo Segura all advanced Friday with first-round victories in Division I singles in the Southern Intercollegiate Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Spir, a senior No. 30 nationally in rankings released Friday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, defeated Florida’s Luke Johnson in straight sets, 7-6 (3), 6-2, while Melian, also a senior, captured a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Tianyu Bao of Florida Gulf Coast. Segura, a sophomore, needed three sets to beat Lucas Oliviera of Virginia Tech, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4).

Tech freshman Nathan Rakitt and sophomore Vikram Hundal advanced in Division II singles Friday. Rakitt, from Marietta, Ga., picked up a victory in his first collegiate match with a 6-4, 6-2 decision over Louis Theador of Kennesaw State, while Hundal eased past Collin Brown of Florida Gulf Coast, 6-1, 6-1.

Freshmen Garrett Gordon and Anish Sharma, as well as sophomore Colin Edward, were unable to get out of the first round of Division II singles. Sharma lost to Ayrton Wibowo of Clemson, 6-4, 6-0, while Gordon dropped a three-set decision (1-6, 6-1, 7-6) to Chris Smith of Chattanooga and Edwards fell to Ezequiel Gils of Tennessee Tech, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Second round matches in both Divisions and a round of consolation matches in Division II are scheduled for Saturday.

In Division I doubles, Tech’s top duo of Spir and Segura, ranked 10th in the nation by the ITA, slipped past Liberty’s Jorge Azuero and Siim Tuus, 9-8 (3). Melian and Rakitt defeated Mercer’s Anderson Scarpa and Austin Emmet, 8-4, in Division II, while Edwards and Sharma lost a 9-7 decision to Michael Beiler and Collin Brown of Florida Golf Coast.

Gordon and Hundal’s first-round match against Aaron Gomez and Marko Lovrinovic of Virginia Tech was held over to Saturday, with second-round matches in both Divisions to follow.

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