Friday, September 19, 2003

Athens, Ga. (Sept. 19, 2003) - East Tennessee State's men's tennis team struggled in the early goings of the 2003 Southern Intercollegiate Championships hosted by the University of Georgia, as the Buccaneers did not advance any players past the second round of singles. Alejandro Salazar (Arequipa, Peru), ETSU's highest seeded singles player in the tournament, dominated in his first-round match over Erik Flygt of Lander winning in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. However, Salazar went on to lose in the round of 32 against Vanderbilt's Scott Brown (6-4, 4-6, 6-4). Also collecting first-round wins for the Bucs were Fernando Fiuri (Villa Maria, Argentina) and Moises Serrano (Bucaramanga, Colombia). Fiuri defeated Mario Alberto Cayo of Stetson, 6-4, 7-5, before losing to Brett Ross of Wake Forest, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Serrano bested Jacksonville's Peter Wietrak 6-3, 6-2, but fell to Gary Kildoff of Winthrop in second-round action, 7-5, 7-5. ETSU still has another breath of life this weekend, as doubles play is scheduled to begin Saturday morning. Salazar and teammate Oscar Posada will face the eighth-seeded tandem from Mississippi State, Romain Ambert and Florent Girod. Meanwhile, Serrano and Diego Iglesias (Mar del Plata, Argentina) are set to take on Max Fomine and Matt Armstrong also of Mississippi State. Fomine/Armstrong are the sixth-seeded duo in the Division II doubles bracket. Friday's Results from the 2003 Southern Intercollegiate Championships

Division I Singles First Round Alejandro Salazar (ETSU) def. Erik Flygt (Lander) 6-2, 6-0 Jason Zimmerman (Duke) def. Oscar Posada (ETSU) 6-2, 6-2 Second Round Scott Brown (Vanderbilt) def. Alejandro Salazar (ETSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Division II Singles First Round Alex Bucewicz (Memphis) def. Diego Iglesias (ETSU) 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-2 Fernando Fiuri (ETSU) def. Mario Alberto Cayo (Stetson) 6-4, 7-5 Second Round Brett Ross (Wake Forest) def. Fernando Fiuri (ETSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 Consolation Round Diego Iglesias (ETSU) def. Dominik Hecht (Tennessee Tech) 6-3, 7-5