The men’s tennis fall season came to a close this past weekend as the Waves battled across the country in LA, Florida and New York. Junior David Sofaer, freshman Damian Gryzelko and senior Mousheg Hovhannisyan competed in the 56th annual Southern California Intercollegiate Championship. Senior Finn Tearney and sophomore Kento Tanaka-Tamaki competed in the Lakewood Ranch Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic in Florida where Tearney claimed the singles championship title, while the duo reached the semifinals. Senior Sebastian Fanselow completed the fall season with a second-place finish in the USTA/ITA Indoor Intercollegiate Championship in New York.
The season began with wins at the Olympia Fields Country Club Invitational. Fanselow won his first singles match of the season over Illinois’ Jared Hiltzik. Gryzelko teamed up with Hovhannisyan to beat Notre Dame’s doubles team 9-7.
The Waves competed in three additional tournaments throughout the season: the ITA All-American Championships, the Battle in the Bay Classic and the USTA/ITA Southwest Regional. At the Southwest Regionals, the men’s doubles team of Tearney and Hovhannisyan eliminated USC and UC Irvine doubles teams in order to improve their No. 8 tournament ranking to compete in the semifinals against the top seeded team in the tournament. Tearney and Hovhannisyan lost to in a tight match against Quiroz and Vroome of USC.
Fanselow, Tearney and Hovhannisyan are nationally ranked third, 14th and 63rd respectively and are expected to make big contributions next season.
The women’s tennis team also had a successful season with sophomore Lorraine Guillermo starting the season with a win in the singles red bracket at the San Diego State Fall Classic. She took the title with a perfect 3-0 score.
Nationally ranked No. 7 in doubles, red shirt senior Khunpack Issara and Guillermo earned a bid to compete in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships after winning the consolation bracket at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships in October. The duo lost to Virginia in set two of the semifinals, ending their fall season with a notable 7-2 record this season. Waves tennis will return in January.
