Spartan Tennis Teams Head Downtown For Wofford Tournament
10/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Oct. 2, 2007
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Both the USC Upstate men's and women's tennis teams will take the short trip to downtown Spartanburg this weekend, as they are set to compete in the Wofford Fall Tournament. The tournament, a two-day event, will be held at the Reeves Tennis Center.
Novo Earns Two More Titles At Wolfpack Invitational
Junior Anna Novo won both the A1 flight singles title and the A2 doubles title as the USC Upstate women's tennis team finished up a strong showing at the Residence Inn North Wolfpack Invitational. Novo, who beat the tournament's No. 1 seed, Elon's Deanna Bailey, in the first round, took out North Carolina State's Neals Barringer, 6-4, 6-1, in the finals to take her second straight singles tournament title. Novo also won the USC Upstate Fall Tournament last weekend. In doubles play, Novo teamed with freshman Emilia Milovanovic to down teammates senior Susana Hernandez and junior Maria Herrera, 8-2.
Men Make Noise At Southern Intercollegiates
Junior Sandy Franz posted a three-set win against Florida's Nestor Briceno, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4, to reach the Division I singles round of 32 at the Southern Intercollegiates. Briceno was ranked 91st in the preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Although, he fell to Wake Forest's Steve Forman in the second round, Franz had little more than 12 hours to recuperate between matches and also had to play two doubles matches in that period.
Sophomore Javier Tori also advanced to the round of 32 in the Division I bracket of singles play, defeating South Carolina's Ivan Cressoni, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Sophomore Renzo Airaldi breezed through his two matches on Friday afternoon to reach the round of 32 in the Division II singles bracket. He won his first round match, 6-0, 6-2, over Georgia State's Augusto Alvarado before winning in the second round against Samford's Oliver Reynolds, 7-6 (3), 6-0. In doubles the teams of Airaldi and Franz and sophomore Jack Roux and Tori also each won a match at the tournament.
Women, Novo Dominate At USC Upstate Fall Tournament
Junior Anna Novo won both the women's singles `A' draw and doubles titles at the USC Upstate Fall Tennis Tournament, but she wasn't the only Spartan to find success at the tournament. Three Spartans reached the semifinals of the `A' draw in singles, with Novo advancing to the finals after Diana Martinez withdrew. She met teammate Susana Hernandez in the finals, winning, 6-3, 6-2. Hernandez finished 2-1 during the tournament.
In doubles, Novo teamed with freshman Emilia Milovanovic to win three matches en route to the championships, beating Wofford's Mary Ellen Henry and Cayley Wetzig, 8-2 in the finals. The Spartans' other women's doubles' team, Martinez and junior Maria Herrera advanced to the semifinals before falling to Henry and Wetzig, 8-6.
Franz, Airaldi Lead Men At Upstate Tournament
Both junior Sandy Franz and sophomore Renzo Airaldi dominated en route to the their flight's finals at the USC Upstate Tennis Tournament. Franz, in the `A' draw, posted a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the round of 16, a 6-1, 6-4 win in the quarterfinals, and a 6-4, 6-1 decision in the semis en route to the finals. Airaldi, in the `B' draw, took a similar dominant route, winning 6-2, 6-3; 6-1, 6-4; and 6-2, retired. Both were set to meet Wofford players in the finals and it was decided the finals would be played later in the week. However, due to injuries to the Wofford players, the matches have not been completed.
However, Franz and Airaldi did team together to win the men's doubles `A' draw, winning three matches to earn the title, including a 9-8 tiebreaker against teammates senior Sebastian Gonzales-Orbegoso and sophomore Javier Tori.
Eyeing 50
Three players on the women's tennis team are right on target to reach 50 wins in singles in a career during this season. Senior Diana Martinez needs just three wins to reach the mark, having compiled a 47-12 record during her career. Senior Susana Hernandez is seven wins from reaching the half-century mark, having posted a 43-14 career record in singles play and junior Anna Novo enters the N.C. State tournament 11 wins shy of the mark with a 39-11 career record. So far, Novo is a perfect 6-0 on the season while Martinez is 2-0 and Hernandez is 5-2 on the year.
