FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s tennis team competed at the ITA South/Southeast Regionals on Friday and Saturday and came home with the B2 doubles consolation championship.
Senior Sam Sheats (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) and first-year Tyler Vanvalkenburg (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) posted a 3-1 record on their way to the B2 doubles consolation championship title. Sheats and Vanvalkenburg first dropped an 8-2 decision to Grove City College’s Michael Odrey and Jameson Sposato in the championship round of 16.
The duo then rebounded with an 8-5 triumph over Bridgewater (Va.) College’s Matthew Leonard and Leyton Pullin in the consolation quarterfinals. They followed that up with a walkover win over Lebanon Valley College’s Justin Schuetz and Adam Warren. Sheats and Vanvalkenburg wrapped up the title with an 8-5 victory over Grove City’s Collier Kaufman and Gavin Miller.
Also, in action was the tandem of junior Liam Pratt (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson) and sophomore Keawe Shepherd Johnson (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) who advanced to the semifinals of the B2 doubles championship bracket. Pratt and Shepherd Johnson handed Lebanon Valley’s Jeffrey Bauer and Brendan Byler an 8-5 setback in the round of 16 before battling Stevenson University’s Niko Bifsas and JJ Bonta to an 8-7 (1) decision in the quarterfinals.
Bridgewater’s Gabe Elder and Mark Gordon halted Pratt and Shepherd Johnson’s title run with an 8-5 decision in the semifinals.
In the championship doubles draw, junior Stephen Alam (Ellicott City, Md./Marriotts Ridge) and sophomore Kier Nacua (La Plata, Md./La Plata) dropped an 8-1 decision to Carnegie Mellon University’s Arjan Bedi and Jaden D’Abreo, who were seeded ninth, in the round of 32. The duo then suffered a tough 8-5 loss to Dickinson College’s Garrick Adams and Levi Veleanu in the consolation round of 16.
In singles action, Alam fell 6-3, 6-0 to Carnegie Mellon’s Jonathan Nottingham in the championship draw round of 64 before losing a hard-fought 3-6, 6-1, 6-10 match to Marymount (Va.) University’s Michael Miller in the consolation round of 32.
In the B7 singles draw, Sheats defaulted in his match with Lebanon Valley’s Schuetz (3-6, default) in the quarterfinals before Southern Virginia University’s Mason Pitcher earned a walkover win over Sheats in the consolation semifinals.
In the B8 singles draw, Randolph-Macon College’s Alex Kulvivat posted a 7-5, 6-1 win over Nacua in the quarterfinals before Nacua fell 6-2, 6-4 to Washington College’s Christian Gruyon in the consolation semifinals