Will Topp (Olympia, Wash.) headlined Seattle U’s first day
of the Boise State Appleton Classic Friday, advancing into the Orange Flight
quarterfinals with two big wins and earned the program’s first victory over a
Pac-12 player since the team was reestablished in 2008.
Topp began the day in a matchup with Montana’s top-ranked
singles player, Andrew Warren. Topp took the first set 6-4 then played won the
second in a tiebreak 7-6 to take the win. He then drew the sixth-seeded Daan
Maasland of Oregon, whom he dispatched in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 to advance
into Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup against third-seeded Stefan Micov of
Portland. The victory over Maasland was the first win by any Seattle U tennis
player over a Pac-12 competitor in over 30 years.
Also in the Orange Flight, Zach Kosanke (Bellevue, Wash.)
squared off against Gonzaga’s Oliver Jamin in the opening round and fell 6-4,
6-2, while Kevin Lynch (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was matched up with overall
No. 1 seed Alex Rovello of Oregon. Lynch fell 6-2, 6-1, and both he and Kosanke
will move into the flight’s consolation bracket.
In the Blue Flight, Ian Clare (Sachse, Texas) earned his
first collegiate singles win with a 6-2, 7-6 (10-3) victory over Eastern
Washington’s Stefan Farrar in the round of 32. He met Ethan Vaughn of Montana
in the second round, however, and fell 6-3, 6-0.
Four other Redhawks were in play in the bracket. Flavio Malagutti (Rio Claro, Brazil) and Gus Orlando (Sacramento, Calif.) were both dispatched in the first round by similar
6-4, 6-1 scores. Malagutti lost to Gonzaga’s Bladimir Mijatovic, while Orlando
fell to Nate Chart of Portland State.
Kyle Rapp (Encinitas, Calif.) lost in the flight’s second
round by a score of 6-2, 6-3 to Oregon’s Michael Shaefer, and Jason Bediones
(Kent, Wash.) lost to Alfredo Desianti of Abilene Christian 6-3, 6-0.
In the Orange Doubles Flight, Lynch and Bediones teamed up
to dispatch Stempien and Coello of Iowa State 8-4. They fell in the second
round, however, 8-4 to Portland’s Hukwo and Ferrero. Also in the bracket, Topp
and Kosanke earned a bye to the second round, where they fell to Akbar and
Oddonetto of Idaho 8-4.
Rapp and Malagutti advanced in the Blue Doubles Flight
advanced to the quarterfinals with an 8-6 win over Portland’s Deuel and Martin,
while Orlando and Clare fell in the first round to Idaho’s Bendeck and Torres
8-2.
The Redhawks will continue play at the Boise State Appleton
Classic Saturday, October 5, where play will begin at 9:00 a.m.
