Oct. 3, 2002
FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason swept doubles to earn the doubles point, then won four singles matches in straight sets to claim a 5-2 win over visiting Loyola Thursday afternoon at the GMU Tennis Courts. The Patriots notch their first dual match win of the season to improve to 1-1 overall.
Mason's No. 1 through No. 3 singles players outmatched and overpowered their Greyhound opponents, losing no more than two games. Junior Tito Ballester (Lima, Peru/Saint Margaret) earned a 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 1. Playing at No. 2, sophomore Tim Bainton (Chobham Surrey, UK/St. Georges) lost two games in the first set, 6-2, but cruised in the second frame, 6-0. Freshman Stephen Dufils (Paris, France/Heritage Acad.) continues to look impressive in first year on the team, recording a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 3 singles.
Senior Cem Akalin (Goetzingen, Luxembourg/Lycee Vauban) clinched the match for the Patriots with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 victory at No. 4. Sophomore David Cornelius (Woodbridge, VA/Gar-field), up a set playing at No. 5, lost the second frame in a tiebreak. Knotted at 5-all in the third, Cornelius would lose his service game and eventually the match, 6-3, 6-7, 5-7. Senior Jorge Ramallo (Arlington, VA/Milton Acad.) also fell in three sets after winning the first, 6-2, 4-6, 4-6.
Mason's No. 1 doubles tandem of Ballester and Dufils won 8-1, while Bainton and Akalin recorded an 8-4 victory at No. 2. Cornelius and Ramallo made it a clean sweep with an 8-4 win at No. 3 doubles.
The Patriots converge on Norfolk, VA, Oct. 18-20, to participate in the East Coast Collegiate Championships.
GEORGE MASON 5, LOYOLA 2
(at GMU Tennis Courts, 10/3/02)
Singles
#1 Tito Ballester (GM) d. John McConnell 6-0, 6-2
#2 Tim Bainton (GM) d. Nick Bowers 6-2, 6-0
#3 Stephan Dufils (GM) d. John Laramie 6-0, 6-1
#4 Cem Akalin (GM) d. Jonathan Falcichio 7-5, 7-5
#5 Cyan Bradley d. David Cornelius (GM) 3-6, 7-6, 7-5
#6 Adam Wessinger d. Jorge Ramallo (GM) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
#1 Ballester/Dufils (GM) d. McConnell/Laramie 8-1
#2 Bainton/Akalin (GM) d. Bowers/Wessinger 8-4
#3 Cornelius/Ramallo (GM) d. Falcichio/Bradley 8-4
