Huskies Surge Into Round of 32 at USTA/ITA NW Regional Championships
STANFORD, Calif. – The University of Washington men’s tennis team opened up the USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships with a strong showing as four Dawgs advanced to the singles round of 32 and three doubles pairs also moved on to the next round.
In singles action the Dawgs were led by senior Emmett Egger who outlasted Stanford’s Trey Strobel, 6-3, 6-4 in the round of 64. Egger received a bye in the round of 128 due to his seeding but will be joined in the round of 32 with three other Dawgs that posted two wins each on Friday.
Freshman Mitch Stewart opened the day with an easy 6-1, 6-2 defeat over Eduardo Martinez (Eastern Washington) then handled Stanford’s Brandon Sutter, 6-0, 6-2 to continue his run at his first tournament as a Husky. Sophomore Gal Hakak, also seeded 17th, defeated St. Mary’s James Markiewicz, 6-1, 6-1 then put up a 6-3, 7-5 win over Pacific’s Eric Spence.
Another freshman also moved on to the round of 32 in Jake Douglas who posted a 7-6 (0), 6-3 opening round win over Pacific’s Alex Hamilton before upsetting 17-seed Robert Dula of Eastern Washington 6-2, 6-1.
In doubles action, the newly matched pair of Stewart and Watanabe earned an 8-4 win against Pacific’s Alex Giannini and Ashwin Sharma while Douglas/Farkas posted an 8-7 (5) victory against Portland State’s Will Cochrane and Ethan Lopez. Additionally Gal Hakak and Rishabh Raman will move on after defeating Oregon’s Jayson Amos and Kevin Farin, 8-6, who were seeded ninth.
Nationally ranked duo Emmett Egger and Jeff Hawke earned a bye in the doubles round of 64 and will join their teammates in the round of 32 starting Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
UW RESULTS
Open Singles – Round of 64
Emmett Egger (5) def. Trey Strobel (Stanford), 6-3, 6-4
Mitch Stewart (17) def. Brandon Sutter (Stanford), 6-0, 6-2
Gal Hakak (17) def. Eric Spence (Pacific), 6-3, 7-5
Jake Douglas def. Robert Dula (17) (Eastern Washington), 6-2, 6-1
John Morrissey(3) (Stanford) def. Rishabh Raman, 6-2, 6-1
JT Nishimura (17) (California) def. Dragos Puscalau, 6-1, 6-0
Kevin Farin (9) (Oregon) def. Wendell Watanabe, 6-4, 6-1
Open Singles – Round of 128
Mitch Stewart (17) def. Eduardo Martinez (Eastern Washington), 6-1, 6-2
Gal Hakak (17) def. James Markiewicz (St. Mary’s), 6-1, 6-1
Rishabh Raman def. Brent Wheeler (Portland State), 6-2, 6-4
Dragos Puscalau def. Mikhail Khmidashvilli (Santa Clara), WD (ill)
Wendell Watanabe def. Stefan Farrar (Eastern Washington), 6-2, 6-1
Jake Douglas def. Alex Hamilton (Pacific), 7-6 (0), 6-3
James Wade (UC Davis) def. Jeff Hawke, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
Pierre Garcia (Portland) def. Viktor Farkas, 7-6 (4), 7-5
Open Doubles – Round of 64
Stewart/Watanabe def. Alex Giannini/Ashwin Sharma (Pacific), 8-4
Douglas/Farkas def. Will Cochrane/Ethan Lopez (Portland State), 8-7 (5)
Hakak/Raman def. Jayson Amos/Kevin Farin (9) (Oregon), 8-6