Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Saint Joseph's Invitational
Men's and Women's Tennis Kick off the Fall Season
9/19/2013 3:10:00 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
The Drexel men's and women's tennis teams will take the courts this weekend in their fall openers. The men will be competing at the Saint Joseph's Invitational being held at Saint Joseph's. The women will head to the University of Penn for the Cissie Leary Invitational. Both the men and the women will be playing from September 20-22.
For the men, Friday's matches will include doubles flights one and two, beginning at 1:30 p.m. In doubles flight one for Drexel, Skyler Davis and Dan Koehler will take on Villanova at 1:30 p.m., while teammates Tyler Pultro and Danny Talone take on another set of Wildcats at 1:30 p.m. in doubles flight two. Also in doubles flight two, Badr Ouabdelmoumen and Daniel Hansen will battle Delaware in a match at 2:30 p.m. match. Last for the Dragons, Alex Fioravante and Xabier Saavedra will fight for the win against Lafayette at 3:30 p.m. in doubles flight one.
Singles competition will commence on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. in flights one and two, while flights three and four will start at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., respectively.
Last year, the men's team had an impressive run while making history. Ouabdelmoumen became the first men's tennis player to win a Flight One main draw at the Saint Joseph's Invitational. He defeated two Delaware Blue Hens in the semifinals and finals to earn the title. Skyler Davis also saw success, as he defeated a strong Hofstra opponent and continued to advance to the semifinals. Dan Koehler won Consolation Flight Four with wins over Delaware, Army and Lafayette, the final by a 6-4, 7-5 score.
On the women's side, matches will begin on Friday starting at 8 a.m. with two rounds of doubles, followed by two rounds of singles. In doubles for the Dragons, Nicole Pivonka and Marcela Rosales will receive a bye in the Round of 64, and will face either Long Island University or Temple opponents in the Round of 32. Captain, Zeynep Mafa and newcomer Fiorella Coria will take on the University of Rhode Island in their match. Alex Bell has
teamed up with Mel Reyes in pursuit of defeating a Richmond duo, and the last pair for the Dragons will be Erin Bowsher and freshman Lea Winkler against a tough Columbia.
Last year for the Dragons, Mafa and Rosales highlighted the tournament by advancing to the Round of 16 in the main doubles draw. They were successful in taking down Akron, and Maryland in the Round of 32. Bowsher and Pivonka also had successful runs in the tournament, Bowsher reaching consolation draw quarterfinals, and Pivonka reaching consolation draw finals.
Check back each day for results and recaps from both tournaments. Also, follow Drexel Dragons and Drexel Tennis on twitter for updates.
