GCU Finishes Strong at NMSU Invite

Friday, September 18

Las Cruces, N.M.

All Day

Grand Canyon

New Mexico State Invite

9/20/2015 10:34:00 PM | Men's Tennis

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Grand Canyon University men's tennis team concluded their opening weekend of the fall with a strong performance at the New Mexico State Invite.

"The guys started their first fall tournament with a strong showing in doubles and singles competition," said assistant coach Amit Maharaj. "It was great to see our doubles teams back in action with the positivity and chemistry they built last year."

In doubles, juniors Mitch Maroscher and Adrian Legarreta had a successful weekend, finishing 4-1 with a third place finish over a duo from New Mexico State. During the competition, they also defeated another pair from the host team in a tiebreaker to make it to the quarterfinals.

Earning fifth place, seniors Felix Schueller and Alexander Roggenkamp also defeating pairs from Western New Mexico, Abilene Christian, and New Mexico State along the way. Newcomer Justin Cvitanovic teamed up with Meidy Chazeau for their 11^th place win. Gregoire Balenci and Rafael Lira won the battle for 15^th in a tiebreaker during their first tournament competing together.

"Our guys showed a lot of heart on and off the court fighting for every point and supporting one another," continued Maharaj. "All our guys competed with a positive attitude and a strong effort."

In singles, Maroscher advanced to the first flight championship match. He cruised past both Sebastian Langdon and Paul Domanski from Abilene Christian in the opening rounds in straight set victories, before facing New Mexico State's Strahinja Trecakov in the quarterfinals. He won the match 7-5,3-6,10-7, before taking on the Aggies' Christofer Goncalves for the title. Maroscher lost the opening set 6-2, but made a comeback in the second 6-3 to force the third, before being defeated 6-3.

Also in the first flight, Schueller earned his way to the consolation finals, where he defeated Abilene Christian's Langdon 6-2, 7-5. Roggenkamp posted a seventh place finish, while Legarreta placed 13^th.

In the second flight, Cvitanovic placed third in the draws, defeating a player from Western New Mexico 6-1, 6-2 in the final round. Balenci finished 11^th in the competition.

In the third flight, sophomore Mathieu Ounanian won his opening match over Arizona Christian's David Castano, before falling to Abilene Christian's Andrew Hutchinson. He made his way to third place match where he fell just short in a three-set battle (1-6,7-5,6-2).

"We have learned a lot this weekend and will hit the practice courts hard as we prepare for our next fall event," concluded Maharaj.

The Lopes will continue the competition at the San Diego State Invite Oct. 9-11 in San Diego, Calif. A full recap of the weekend will be available at www.gculopes.com.