Day 1 Recap
NAPA, Calif. – The San Francisco men's tennis team continues in its first event of the fall, coming away with two doubles wins and the first singles victory of the short season Saturday at the Napa Valley Collegiate Invitational.
Bernardo Saraiva, No. 109 in the ITA preseason singles rankings , earned the Dons' first singles point with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Fresno State's Phillipe Fritz. The junior from Lisbon, Portugal, is one of just four upperclassmen on the youthful USF squad, and is expected to again make big contributions this year, both on and off the court.
Similar to yesterday's opening at the Napa Valley Collegiate Invitational, doubles were the forte of the Dons on the day. Saraiva, paired with
Nils Skajaa, took out their opponents from Arizona 8-7(5) to begin the action. The duo of
Christian Brockstedt and Thomas Takamoto handled their match with ease, dispatching the opponents 8-3.
"The team is doing a great job with their doubles play and showed great team work," said Director of Tennis,
Peter Bartlett. "Today we competed better in singles but are still working on things to get some better results."
The invitational concludes Sunday, as USF is slated to face Arkansas in doubles action and Oklahoma State in singles play. The Dons meet up with the Cowboys in dual match play in March, so this preview of sorts will serve as a measuring stick for the squad.
"The team is still very motivated and showing positive energy going into
tomorrow against OSU," said Bartlett. "We will be competing against them during the regular season in Hawaii and this will give us an idea where we stack up."
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Napa Valley Collegiate Invitational
USF Results – Day 2
Doubles
Saraiva/Skajaa (USF) def. Thompson/Shinde (UA) 8-7(5)
Brockstedt/Takemoto (USF) def. Takeda/Urquidi (UA) 8-3
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Singles
No. 109
Bernardo Saraiva (USF) def. Phillipe Fritz (FS) 6-1, 6-1
John Darmstaedter (FS) def.
Nils Skajaa (USF) 6-2, 6-4
Adriaan Du Toit (FS) def.
Thomas Takemoto (USF) 6-1, 6-2
Ethan Lopez (FS) def.
Christian Brockstedt (USF) 1-6, 6-1, 6-4