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Men’s Tennis earns more victories

The men’s tennis team continued it’s winning ways in its second consecutive tournament last weekend.

With a combined singles record of 32-6, the team saw four of its members earn a perfect 4-0 record over the weekend.

From No. 2 singles freshman Ahmed Al Bitar to the No. 8 freshman Michael Davis, almost the entire 10-man roster finished with records above .500 for the tournament at the Markin Tennis Courts.

“We’ve got a really thick team; everyone’s playing on the same level,” sophomore Ashton Kalhorn said. “Some days some guys stand out more than others, but really, as a team, we are all solid.”

Kalhorn joined Al Bitar, sophomores Justin Abrams and Hamish Weerasinghe as the four Bradley starters who went a perfect 4-0.

“It’s really scary how deep we are,” coach Jesse Plote said. “Carrying three more guys then normal really adds to the intensity.”

Junior Eric Nguyen would’ve joined his teammates with a undefeated record on the weekend if not for a three-set loss to Saint Louis University’s Patt Kella on the last day of competition.

Nguyen joined Davis, junior Juan Cuadrado and sophomore Arthur Romanet as team members with a 3-1 record in the tournament.

The only player that failed to win more than one match on the weekend was the team’s No. 1 starter Gabriel Townes.

The Atlanta native started off the tournament with a promising 6-4, 6-4 win over South Dakota State’s Justin Pyle, but wound up forfeiting two matches due to a severely rolled ankle.

Townes would join sophomore Kevin Keiner as the only Braves who did not win more than half of their games in the tournament, though they had gone a combined 5-1 in the prior tournament.

The success in singles didn’t necessarily translate over to doubles, as the team finished 7-8.

Despite that, the Braves have found a lot of success this year with a lot of young talent.

“All I’m trying to do is gauge the team right now,” Plote said. “I have seven returners and three new guys, so I’m trying to see where the new guys mix in.”

While the first two tournaments have been major successes for the Braves, both have been held at home on the Markin courts. Their next two tournaments will be on the road beginning on October 30th in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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