NAPA, Calif. – The San Francisco men's tennis team kicked off the fall schedule at the Napa Valley Collegiate Invitational.
The Dons were strong in their doubles debut, winning both matches against competition from UNLV.
Bernardo Saraiva and
Nils Skajaa started the day with an 8-3 victory.
Christian Brockstedt, a freshman from Aarhus, Denmark, made his first collegiate appearance for the Green and Gold alongside Brazilian sophomore
Thomas Takemoto. The underclassmen duo of Brockstedt and Takemoto took care of Pume/Vongman 8-7(5).
"This is a great event and every match is well competed for. This morning our guys fought hard and were able to win their doubles matches in close situations," said head coach
Pablo Pires de Almeida. "Thomas and Christian really stepped up in their tie breaker and played solid tennis to win it against a good team. In singles everyone competed hard but no one quite played consistent enough to win his match. The guys look forward to tomorrow's competition and are hungry for their first singles wins of the fall."
Saraiva, No. 109 in the ITA preseason rankings, battled back in his singles match to win the second set before falling in three to Idaho's Artemiy Nikitin. Skajaa's match mirrored the same pattern, as he took the second set before eventually falling 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to Balasz Odon Barta.
The team-rotation style tournament features several teams and individuals that found themselves in last season's ITA rankings. Competitors represent schools from across the country, including Idaho, UNLV, Arizona and Oklahoma State, along with area schools Pacific and Fresno State. Each squad will be represented by four players and will rotate between singles and doubles play each day of the tournament.
Tomorrow, the Dons are slated to face off against Idaho and Arizona in doubles matches and Fresno State in Saturday afternoon's singles competitions. The invitational concludes on Sunday as USF will play future dual match competitor Oklahoma State in singles competition.
Napa Valley Collegiate Invitational
USF Results - Day 1
Doubles
Saraiva/Skajaa (USF) def. Batyi/Sublette (UNLV) 8-3
Brockstedt/Takemoto (USF) def. Pume/Vongman (UNLV) 8-7(5)
Singles
Artemiy Nikitin (Idaho) def. No. 109
Bernardo Saraiva (USF) 6-1, 5-7, 7-5
Balasz Odon Barta (Idaho) def.
Nils Skajaa (USF) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Cesar Torres (Idaho) def.
Thomas Takemoto (USF) 6-2, 6-3
* Idaho and USF did not play a fourth match.
