Sept. 30, 2002
FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason's men's tennis team competed at the 27th annual DC Metropolitan Intercollegiate Tennis Championship, Sept. 27-30, co-hosted by Georgetown, American, and George Washington Universities in Washington, DC. The Patriots provided several outstanding performances throughout the tournament.
Junior Tito Ballester (Lima, Peru/Saint Margaret) advanced to the finals of the flight "A" singles main draw as the No. 5 seed with a 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 upset win over second-seed Harris Causevic of Maryland. Ballester will face the top seed Josef Novotny of UMBC this week. The match is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday. Sophomore Tim Bainton (Chobham Surrey, UK/St. Georges) joined Ballester in the flight "A" draw. Bainton made it out of the first round with 6-4, 6-2 win over his opponent, but fell in the round of 16 to the sixth seed and Georgetown's No. 1 player, 1-6, 0-6. Mason freshman Stephan Dufils (Paris, France/Heritage Acad.) lost in the first round to Causevic, 3-6, 2-6. Dufils won his opening round match of the flight "A" consolation draw, 6-1, 6-3, but lost in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 6-7(5).
The Patriots entered three players in the flight "B" singles main draw. Sophomore David Cornelius (Woodbridge, VA/Gar-field) bested his first round opponent, 6-1, 6-2, but lost his next match in straight sets. Seniors Jorge Ramallo (Arlington, VA/Milton Acad.) and Cem Akalin (Goetzingen, Luxembourg/Lycee Vauban) lost their first-round contests. Akalin advanced in the flight "B" consolation draw with a default win, but fell to his quarterfinal foe. Ramallo was also bested in the consolation field.
Mason freshman Miles Hughes (Lowry, VA/Jefferson Forest) fell in the first round of the flight "C" main draw in straight sets, but bounced back to claim a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the consolation round of 16. He fell 5-7, 0-6 in his quarterfinal round match. Sophomore Kishore Thota (Colonial Heights, VA/Colonial Heights) lost his opening match in both the main and consolation flight "C" draws.
Ballester and Dufils teamed together in the doubles flight "A" main draw, advancing to the semifinals. The tandem earned an 8-4 win against George Washington's No. 2 duo, and upset the flight's top-seed and American No. 1 team with an 8-6 victory. However, Ballester and Dufils lost in the semifinals 1-8 to Maryland's No. 2 team.
Bainton and Akalin, who combined in the flight "B" doubles main draw, also advanced to the semifinals. The team was denied a berth in the final after losing 3-8 to the team from American.
Mason had two teams in the flight "C" main doubles draw. Hughes and Thota along with Cornelius and Ramallo both lost in their respective opening matches, placing them in the consolation field. Hughes and Thota were downed 7-9 in their quarterfinal round consolation contest, while the tandem of Cornelius and Ramallo defeated the team form Howard, 8-4, to advance to the semifinals. After an 8-3 semifinal victory over the team from Catholic, Cornelius and Ramallo won the draw with an 8-1 victory in the final.
The Patriots host Loyola at the GMU Tennis Courts Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
