Tournament Box Score (PDF)

* Mason went a combined 19-11 in singles play
* Senior Pally Ray went 3-1 in singles and finished third in the 'B' flight
* The Patriots return to action Oct. 13-15 at Navy's Fall Invitational
 
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The George Mason University men's tennis team combined for a strong singles effort to kick off the 2017-18 season at the Joe Hunt Invitational.
 
Mason's seven participating student-athletes posted a cumulative singles mark of 19-11, while five of those players notched a winning record over the course of the weekend.
 
"The guys really came out ready to compete for this tournament," head coach Jimmy Davis said. "The first tournament is always a great opportunity to see how everyone performs in pressure situations and I think we did a great job of showing our toughness against some very strong competition. As a team, we gained a lot of confidence from pulling out some close matches, but we also found areas that need improvement. We are motivated as a group to continue to work hard and get better."
 
Senior Pally Ray led the Patriots with a third-place finish in the 'B' singles flight. He opened with a three-set victory over Navy's Gabriel Pilones (6-3, 4-6, 7-5), then advanced again with a three-set win over Hector Martinez of St. Bonaventure (6-3, 1-6, 6-2). Ray fell in his semifinal match, but advanced in his final competition to claim the third-place spot.
 
Also in the 'B' flight, sophomore Jakob Nielsen went 3-1 and placed fifth. He opened with a sweep of Navy's Greg Durham (6-1, 6-2), before falling in the second round to George Washington's Christos Hadjigeorgiou. Nielsen rebounded with straight set wins over Mary Washington's Patrick Hughes (6-3, 6-3) and George Washington's William Tutecky (6-4, 6-1).
 
In the 'A' singles flight, sophomore Eddie Ayers dropped his opening match, but went 3-0 to close out the weekend. That included wins over Monmouth's Alberto Guiffrida (6-0, 6-4) and Mary Washington's Matt Miles (6-2, 4-6, 6-1). He wrapped up the weekend with a win over JHU's Vishnu Joshi (7-6, 6-3).
 
Senior Daniel Gutierrez placed fifth in the 'C' flight, opening with a win over Derek Hagino of Mary Washington (6-4, 7-6). After dropping his second round match, he closed with two wins, including a victory over Navy's Peter Lohrbach (6-4, 6-2).
 
Junior Giuliano Buzoianu went 3-1 in the 'C' flight, winning three straight matches after dropping his first. That included wins over Jakob Behun of George Washington (6-4, 6-2) and Indra Patwardhan of St. Bonaventure (6-2, 6-3).
 
In doubles, Ray and Gutierrez continued their powerful partnership from 2016-17. They went 3-1 on the weekend, including a win over the Blanco/Martinez team from St. Bonaventure (6-2).
 
Mason notched a 6-8 overall mark in doubles.
 
The Patriots return to action Oct. 13-15 at Navy's Fall Invitational.