Sept. 14, 2018

Midland, Texas/Laguna Nigel, Calif. – Utah State men's tennis opened the fall season with impressive performances in Midland, Texas and Laguna Niguel, Calif. on Friday,  as a pair of Aggies advanced to the quarterfinals in singles at the Midland Invitational and sophomore Felipe Acosta advanced to the round of 64 in singles at the ITF Futures.

In singles at the Midland Invitational, Isaac Arevalo Gómez beat Abilene Christian's Niko Mocceau 6-2, 6-2 in the round of 32. Arevalo Gómez went on to face UT-Arlington's Enrique Pardo, losing the first set 3-6, but dropped four games in the second to win 6-4 and then closed out the third set with a 6-3 win. Junior Duro Opacic cruised through the round of 32, defeating UT-Arlington's Jakub Grzegorczyk 6-2, 6-0 and New Mexico's Karlo Divkovic 6-2, 6-2 in the round of 16. 

In doubles play, sophomore Jose Carvajal and freshman Rithvik Bollipalli advanced to the quarterfinals in doubles play by edging out Gardiner Perotii and Carlos Tamarit of SMU 8-5. Carvajal and Bollipalli lost, 8-4, to Tyler Junior College and TCU's Luke Simkiss and Max Kurzban, respectively. 

At the ITF Futures Tournament, sophomore Felipe Acosta won a convincing game over Erroll Lawrence 6-0, 6-1 in the qualifying round.

Actions resumes for the Aggies Saturday as USU will participate in singles and doubles at the Midland Invitational and Acosta in the ITF Futures.

Fans can follow USU's women's tennis team on Twitter @USUWomensTennis, on Facebook at UtahStateWomensTennis or on Instagram @USUWomensTennis. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter at @USUAthletics, on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on Instagram at @USUAthletics.
 

RESULTS - MIDLAND INVITATIONAL
Singles
Round of 32
Duro Opacic (USU) def. Jakub Grzegorczyk (UT-Arlington) 6-2, 6-0
Rithvik Bollipalli (USU) def. Luke Simkiss (Tyler Junior College) 6-3, 6-2
Isaac Arevalo Gómez (USU) def. Niko Mocceau (Abilene Christian) 6-2, 6-2
Jose Carvajal (USU) def. Austin Abbrat (Texas A&M) 5-7, 6-1, 6-1

SIngles
Round of 16
Isaac Arevalo Gómez (USU) def. Enrique Pardo (UT-Arlington) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Duro Opacic (USU) def. Karlo Divkovic (New Mexico) 6-2, 6-2
Josh Sheehy (Abliene Christian) def. Jose Carvajal (USU) 4-6, 4-6
Mauirio del Rio (UT-Arlington) def. Rithvik Bollipalli (USU) 7-5, 7-5

Doubles
Round of 16
Luke Simkiss/Max Kurzban (Tyler Junior College/TCU) def. Duro Opacic/Isaac Arevalo Gómez (USU) 8-4
Jose Carvajal/Rithvik Bollipalli (USU) def. Gardiner Perotii/Carlos Tamarit (SMU) 8-5

RESULTS - ITF FUTURES TOURNAMENT
Singles
Round of 128
Felipe Acosta (USU) def. Erroll Lawrence (USA) 6-0, 6-1

-USU-