Box Score MIDDLEBURY, VT (September 17, 2023) -- Senior
Oliver Obeid captured the "C" flight singles title Sunday in the second day at the 2023 Middlebury Invitational, while
Mauricio Gutierrez and
Javier Gonzalez teamed up to win the "B" flight doubles to highlight action in the team's first event of the 2023-24 season.
In the "B" flight of doubles, Gutierrez and Gonzalez topped teammates
Andrej Djokic and Corey Marly 8-5 to earn a spot in the title match against Julian Wu and Noah Lewis. In the championship match, the Tufts pairing had to go to a tiebreaker but was able to pull the thrilling victory with an 8-7(4) win.
In other doubles action, the "A" flight saw
Aarush Ganji and Lachie MacIntosh top a pair from Colby College 8-3 to move into the "A" doubles title match. Taking on Walters and Harrison of Brandeis, the Jumbos' pair was nipped at the end 8-6 to finish as the runner up.
In the "A" flight backdraw,
Derin Acaroglu and Obeid combined to earn an 8-6 win in the opening round, but fell 8-7 in the second round to Gujarathi and Sardan of Bates College.
The singles' highlight for the Jumbos was the play of Obeid, who knocked off Sandeep Alapati of Colby 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 in yet another three-set win for the senior this weekend to move into the finals. In the "C" finals, Obeid overcame a 6-1 loss in the opening set to top-seed Joe Mairs of Middlebury to rally for a 1-6, 6-2, 10-6 victory. Obeid won three of his four matches this weekend in three sets.
In the "B" singles flight, Djokic fell in the semifinals to Nathan Jackson of Middlebury, 7-5, 6-1. The "A" flight backdraw had Acaroglu winning his match with Gujarathi in a marthon with scores of 6-3, 3-6, 11-9.
Other action saw
Davide Mirza and Takahiro Shuda team up for a pair of wins in the "B" doubles backdraw, knocking off a duo from RPI 8-5 in the morning before topping a Skidmore pair 8-5. Mirza also picked up a 7-5, 7-5 win in the "D" flight to finish the action on the weekend.
Tufts gets next weekend off before heading to Bowdoin College for the 2023 New England Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional Championships in Brunswick, Maine Sept. 29-Oct. 1.
--JUMBOS--
