Saturday, October 05, 2002

Chattanooga, Tenn. (October 5, 2002) - East Tennessee State men's tennis failed to advance any singles players into the qualifying round of the 2002 ITA All-American Championships, while the fate of one doubles team is still to be determined at this weekend's pre-qualifying round at The Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tenn. Francisco Diaz (Weston, Fla.) fell to Rylan Rizza (6-0, 6-2); Diego Iglesias (Mar del Plata, Argentina) dropped a three-set match to Willy Gali (5-7, 6-4, 6-3); Alejandro Salazar (Arequipa, Peru) lost to Troy Hahn (6-1, 7-5); and Andy Metzler defeated Bucaramanga, Colombia's Moises Serrano (6-4, 6-2). The abovementioned singles players each won their first round matches on Friday night, before being eliminated in the round of 128 on Saturday. "It was a tough day for our program," stated ETSU head coach Dave Mullins. "We had a couple of close, winnable matches, but we let them get away. All in all, it was a tough time." In doubles action, Serrano/Federico Ochoa(Manizales, Colombia) lost their first round match 8-2, while Salazar/Iglesias received a first round bye into the round of 64 and will play on Sunday to determine whether they will advance to the qualifying round early next week.