Singles Quarterfinal Victories Drive Four Cavaliers Forward
The tournament bracket narrowed sharply on Sunday as the remaining singles competitors faced off in the quarterfinals. Top-seeded Andres Santamarta Roig secured a straight-set 6-4, 6-2 victory over sixth-seeded Eyal Shumilov of Virginia Tech. Fifth-seeded Stiles Brockett also advanced with a 6-2, 6-3 win against VCU’s Patrik Petera.
Third-seeded Luca Preda added another comfortable win for the Cavaliers, defeating 12th-seeded Piet Steveker of Old Dominion 6-1, 6-3. Meanwhile, second-seeded Jangjun Kim survived a tougher challenge against Virginia Tech’s eighth-seeded Drew Fishback, dropping the second set before closing out the match 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5.
Earlier in the opening rounds on Thursday, Oct. 8, Stefan Regalia picked up a qualifying singles win against Navy’s Lachlan Buckingham before falling in the next round to Richmond’s Andreas Chapides. Ty Switzer dropped his opening match to James Madison’s Zachary Fleishman, though Switzer bounced back in the consolation bracket to defeat Navy’s James Thomson 6-2, 6-1.
Friday’s Round of 64 saw straightforward victories for the seeded Virginia players. Santamarta Roig defeated VCU’s Yassin Wageh 6-4, 6-1, Brockett bested VCU’s Theo Mottier 6-3, 6-2, Preda topped Virginia Tech’s Gevorg Mnatsakanyan 6-2, 6-3, and Kim overcame James Madison’s Riccardo Ciulli 6-3, 7-5.
The Round of 32 on Saturday, Oct. 10, continued that momentum. Santamarta Roig eliminated Virginia Tech’s Blake Hilsen 6-3, 6-1, Brockett defeated Liberty’s Chase Robinson 7-6 (3), 6-2, Preda ousted James Madison’s Ryan Morgan 6-4, 6-1, and Kim dismissed Virginia Tech’s Nicolas Iantosca 6-3, 6-0.
The Round of 16 brought stiffer resistance. Santamarta Roig dropped a set before overcoming 15th-seeded Oliver Hague of William & Mary 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Brockett defeated Richmond’s Paxton Pritchard 6-3, 6-2. Preda fought past 13th-seeded Benjamin Sparks of Liberty 7-6 (3), 6-2, and Kim swept past William & Mary’s Omar Rhazali 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles Duos Advance to Semifinal Showdowns
In doubles competition, the top-seeded pairing of Santamarta Roig and Kim defeated VCU’s ninth-seeded Leon Zaorski and Nicolo Consonni 8-3 in the quarterfinals. The third-seeded tandem of Brockett and Preda matched that scoreline, defeating Liberty’s Angel Veliz and Siwanat Auytayakul 8-3.
Thursday’s early doubles action featured Ty Switzer and Stefan Regalia defeating Morgan State’s Ilya Maltsev and Abdulraheem Isa 8-5, though Carson Baker and Ilya Fahim eliminated Switzer and Regalia 8-6 in the Round of 32. Santamarta Roig and Kim opened their main doubles draw with an 8-2 win over George Mason’s Egor Zakharov and Adrian Franco Regue, while Brockett and Preda defeated William & Mary’s Omar Rhazali and Dylan Chou 8-2.
The Round of 16 on Saturday saw Santamarta Roig and Kim defeat Longwood’s Marc Ferrando Farras 8-5. Brockett and Preda edged past Virginia Tech’s Gevorg Mnatsakanyan and Nicolas Iantosca 8-6.
Semifinal Matchups Scheduled for Monday
With the weekend quarterfinals concluded, the tournament schedule moves into the semifinal rounds. In the doubles semifinals set for Sunday afternoon at 3:30 pm, top-seeded Santamarta Roig and Kim face Oliver Hague and Connor Kruger, and Brockett and Preda face Blake Hilsen and Eyal Shumilov.
Monday, Oct. 12 brings an all-Cavalier singles semifinal slate. Top-seeded Andres Santamarta Roig will face fifth-seeded Stiles Brockett, while third-seeded Luca Preda takes on second-seeded Jangjun Kim.
