Sept. 143 2003

LEXINGTON, Va. - Mason's men's tennis team sent seven individuals to Lexington, VA Saturday and Sunday to compete in the Washington & Lee Invitational. Four schools participated in the event, including Davidson, James Madison, Mason, and host Washington & Lee.

First-round quarterfinal action from Saturday witnessed senior Tito Ballester (Lima, Peru) become the only Patriot singles player to advance through the championship round. Playing in the Flight #1 draw, Ballester defeated Davidson's Joe Cheaney 6-2, 6-1 for a trip to the semifinals. Junior Tim Bainton (Chobham Surrey, UK) dropped his Flight #1 quarterfinal contest to Porus Jetli of Davidson in a tight 7-6, 7-6 bout. Bainton moves on to the consolation round.

Patriot sophomore Stephan Dufils (Paris, France/Heritage Academy) and Brendan O'Connor each lost straight set quarterfinal round matches in Flight #2 on Saturday, as did sophomore Miles Hughes (Lowry, VA/Jefferson Forest) and Eric Vogel in Flight #3 and Rob Santos in Flight #4. They all move on to the consolation bracket.

Doubles matches were the focus Saturday as both the quarters and semifinal rounds were played. In Flight #1, Ballester and Dufils won their two matches, 8-6 and 8-4, to earn a spot in the final where they will face Davidson's duo of Joe Cheaney and Jay Chitty Sunday. Bainton and Vogel, who dropped an 8-2 decision to Cheaney and Chitty, moved to the consolation round. The tandem will play for seventh-place in Flight #1 doubles after losing to their first round consolation opponent.

Also moving on to the doubles consolation round of Flight #2 was the team of Hughes and O'Connor, which lost 8-1 in the main draw. The pair staged a great battle in their first round consolation match, falling 9-7.

Play resumes on Sunday at the Washington & Lee Invitational.