Men's, Women's Tennis Tackle Strong Competition in California

Friday, October 9

San Diego, Calif.

All Day

Grand Canyon

San Diego State Invite

Photo by: Darryl Webb

Men's, Women's Tennis Tackle Strong Competition in California

10/11/2015 8:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis

The Grand Canyon University men's and women's tennis teams took on the challenge of a pair of fall tournaments in Southern California. The women's team faced the Long Beach State Invite in Long Beach, Calif., while the men's team competed in the San Diego State Invite in San Diego, Calif.

"This weekend marked the toughest competition up to this point in the fall for both the men's and women's teams and I was very pleased to see how our teams met that competition," said head coach Greg Prudhomme. "It was announced before the SDSU men's event that it was the most competitive event they have had in years. The large fields and the strong Southern Cal competition in both events is exactly why we play these events – they help us raise our level as well as allow us to showcase our level."

For the women's team, Lana Rinaldi and Lana Macukat won the opening round of the doubles draws with an 8-4 win over a pair from UCLA, before earning another win over a duo from Wisconsin (8-5). In the quarterfinals, they fell to Cal State Fullerton 8-4.

Susan Baklini also earned a successful victory over Maia Magill from UCLA in her opening round of singles. She won the first set 7-5 before snagging the narrow second set victory in a tiebreaker to advance to the round of eight.

"We were able to earn wins over prominent NCAA tennis powerhouses, UCLA and USC, in singles and doubles," continued Prudhomme. "Returning players, Lana Rinaldi and Lana Macukat, were able to beat a pair from UCLA on their way to the doubles semi-finals. Transfer, Susie Baklini, added a win over UCLA in her first round of singles."

Tatum Prudhomme fell in her opening round against Cal State Northridge, but made a strong comeback in the following rounds to advance to the consolation finals match. She won a three-set match over Portland State's Dane Vorster (5-7,6-3,6-2) and followed up with a second three-set win over Wisconsin's Sydney Rider (2-6,7-7,6-3). In the final match, she picked up a straight sets victory over Montana's Francis Dean.

"Another highlight was Tatum's play," said Prudhomme. "Anytime we have a player earning three wins in the top-flight of a Southern Cal tournament it shows our competitive level. She came from down a set in back-to-back matches to win in three which is great for her experience and preparing her for the tough season ahead."

The men's team had success against tough competition as well at the SDSU Invite.

Junior Mitch Maroscher won his opening match in the first flight singles draws over Jonas Meinzer from San Diego State. He went on to defeat USC's Kalman Boyd in the second round of the tournament 6-3, 6-4, before facing Washington's Piers Foley in another straight sets victory (6-2, 7-5) to advance to the semifinals. He fell to USC's Jake Devine, falling short in the first set's tiebreaker before being defeated 6-2 in the second.

"The men had one of our best performances ever with their play and results," Prudhomme explained. "Spearheading the men's effort was Mitch, who sat most of last season with an injury. He defeated players from USC, Washington, and SDSU on his way to the semifinals of a 32-man top-flight. Performances like this used to be 'upsets' but we're trying to make our teams realize that we are at that level."

Maroscher continued his success from singles in the doubles draws alongside Adrian Legarreta. The duo fell in the opening round to a pair from USC, but won their next three matches to win the consolation finals over another duo from USC.

"Adding to our strong results were Adrian and Mitch winning the consolation final of the top doubles flight," continued Prudhomme. "Alexander Roggenkamp was another player putting in a great performance winning three out of four singles matches and winning a doubles match against USC with Felix Schueller. These seniors are quickly getting to some top form."

"Both teams had strong performances which we will need to draw upon next weekend at the Southwest Region Championship, which will again include some of the top teams in the country," concluded Prudhomme. "We'll take a day off, make some small adjustments and get back at it this Thursday."

Next week, both squads will take on the ITA Southwest Regional. The women's team will have matches Oct. 15-19 in San Diego, Calif., while the men's team will compete on the same days in Malibu, Calif. A full recap of the event will be available at www.gculopes.com.