Saturday, October 24
Statesboro, Ga.
All Day
Chattanooga
vs
Georgia Southern Fall Invitational
Junior Lucas Plesky won two singles matches to advance to Sunday's finals.
Photo by: Dale Rutemeyer
Plesky Advances to Finals at Georgia Southern
10/24/2015 11:06:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Mocs go 8-4 in singles on Saturday.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team had a strong showing in singles action at the Georgia Southern Fall Invitational on Saturday. The Mocs posted eight wins, led by junior Lucas Plesky who advanced to the main draw finals.
Plesky opened with a (7-5, 6-3) over Kennesaw State's Manuel Castellanos in the quarterfinals. He followed that up with a win against Georgia Southern's Marvin Spiering (6-7 (11), 6-1, 6-3).
Plesky, the tournament's No. 2 seed, dropped the first set to Spiering 7-6. He lost in the tiebreaker 13-11. He was actually up 6-2 in the breaker but dropped all four ensuing set points. He bounced right back, going up 3-0 in the second set and only lost four games in the final two frames.
In the third set, Plesky fought off cramps and nearly had to retire, but hung on for the victory.
"Lucas's conditioning paid off in his match today," stated head coach Carlos Garcia. "I credit strength coach Collin Crane for getting our guys ready for a day like today."
Senior Nick Wingord was also in the main draw. He advanced to the semifinals with a three-set (6-3, 4-6, 6-2) win over the Eagle's Andre Johnson. He was knocked out by No. 1 seed Alejandro Valencia of Kennesaw State (6-2, 6-3). Valencia and Plesky face off in tomorrow's finals.
The mercury crept into the 90s in Statesboro, and Plesky had already battled through flu-like symptoms just to make the trip. As a result, he and Wingord defaulted out of their semifinal doubles match in the afternoon and will focus on singles play on Sunday.
"This has been a great test for us," added Garcia. "We will get in 6-8 singles matches and 4-5 doubles for each guy. That is a lot more tennis than we have been able to play all fall."
Junior Derrick Brown won twice in the backdraw. Senior Luke Saunders and John Peacey and freshman Paul LaHue all split their two consolation matches.
The finals are set for Sunday, so be sure to check back to GoMocs.com for full results. Updated draws are attached to the top of this story.
Singles
Lucas Plesky (UTC) def. Manuel Castellanos (KSU) – 7-5, 6-3
Lucas Plesky (UTC) def. Marvin Spiering (GSU) – 6-7 (11), 6-1, 6-3
Nick Wingord (UTC) def. Andre Johnson (GSU) – 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Alejandro Valencia (KSU) def. Nick Wingord (UTC) – 6-2, 6-3
Luke Saunders (UTC) def. Pradeep Raja (GSU) – 6-0, 6-0
Sam Slade (KSU) def. Luke Saunders (UTC) – 6-4, 6-3
Derrick Brown (UTC) def. Trey Davis (Citadel) – 6-4, 6-1
Derrick Brown (UTC) def. Roy Hobson (Citadel) – 6-2, 6-2
Nico de Groof (GSU) def. Paul LaHue (UTC) – 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
Paul LaHue (UTC) def. Yulin Liu (SCAD) – 6-2, 6-2
Evan Pelavin (GSU) def. John Peacey (UTC) – 6-4, 6-3
John Peacey (UTC) def. Adam Brown (GSU) – 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Doubles
Slade - Valencia (KSU) def. Plesky-Wingord (UTC) – wo
Saunders-Brown (UTC) def. Pelavin - Raja (GSU) – 7-5
De Torres Curth - Smith (KSU) def. Saunders-Brown (UTC) – 6-2
Plesky opened with a (7-5, 6-3) over Kennesaw State's Manuel Castellanos in the quarterfinals. He followed that up with a win against Georgia Southern's Marvin Spiering (6-7 (11), 6-1, 6-3).
Plesky, the tournament's No. 2 seed, dropped the first set to Spiering 7-6. He lost in the tiebreaker 13-11. He was actually up 6-2 in the breaker but dropped all four ensuing set points. He bounced right back, going up 3-0 in the second set and only lost four games in the final two frames.
In the third set, Plesky fought off cramps and nearly had to retire, but hung on for the victory.
"Lucas's conditioning paid off in his match today," stated head coach Carlos Garcia. "I credit strength coach Collin Crane for getting our guys ready for a day like today."
Senior Nick Wingord was also in the main draw. He advanced to the semifinals with a three-set (6-3, 4-6, 6-2) win over the Eagle's Andre Johnson. He was knocked out by No. 1 seed Alejandro Valencia of Kennesaw State (6-2, 6-3). Valencia and Plesky face off in tomorrow's finals.
The mercury crept into the 90s in Statesboro, and Plesky had already battled through flu-like symptoms just to make the trip. As a result, he and Wingord defaulted out of their semifinal doubles match in the afternoon and will focus on singles play on Sunday.
"This has been a great test for us," added Garcia. "We will get in 6-8 singles matches and 4-5 doubles for each guy. That is a lot more tennis than we have been able to play all fall."
Junior Derrick Brown won twice in the backdraw. Senior Luke Saunders and John Peacey and freshman Paul LaHue all split their two consolation matches.
The finals are set for Sunday, so be sure to check back to GoMocs.com for full results. Updated draws are attached to the top of this story.
Singles
Lucas Plesky (UTC) def. Manuel Castellanos (KSU) – 7-5, 6-3
Lucas Plesky (UTC) def. Marvin Spiering (GSU) – 6-7 (11), 6-1, 6-3
Nick Wingord (UTC) def. Andre Johnson (GSU) – 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Alejandro Valencia (KSU) def. Nick Wingord (UTC) – 6-2, 6-3
Luke Saunders (UTC) def. Pradeep Raja (GSU) – 6-0, 6-0
Sam Slade (KSU) def. Luke Saunders (UTC) – 6-4, 6-3
Derrick Brown (UTC) def. Trey Davis (Citadel) – 6-4, 6-1
Derrick Brown (UTC) def. Roy Hobson (Citadel) – 6-2, 6-2
Nico de Groof (GSU) def. Paul LaHue (UTC) – 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
Paul LaHue (UTC) def. Yulin Liu (SCAD) – 6-2, 6-2
Evan Pelavin (GSU) def. John Peacey (UTC) – 6-4, 6-3
John Peacey (UTC) def. Adam Brown (GSU) – 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Doubles
Slade - Valencia (KSU) def. Plesky-Wingord (UTC) – wo
Saunders-Brown (UTC) def. Pelavin - Raja (GSU) – 7-5
De Torres Curth - Smith (KSU) def. Saunders-Brown (UTC) – 6-2
Players Mentioned
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