Eagles Compete In ITA Regionals
South Bend, IN - The Judson University men's tennis team traveled to South Bend, Indiana, to compete in the ITA Regional hosted by Holy Cross College. The Eagles showed plenty of fight across both singles and doubles, testing themselves against strong regional competition.
In singles play, Niel Hentrich opened his tournament with a commanding 6–1, 6–1 win over Jedriel Bondoc before running into the number two seed and eventual champion, Ching Wah Wai. Florian Koppitsch also began with a victory, defeating Daniel Jancic 6–4, 6–3.
Julius Fortun impressed with a flawless 6–0, 6–0 win in his opener and pushed through to a dramatic three–set battle in the round of 32, eventually falling just short. Joshua Bavich had one of the most exciting matches of the early rounds, dropping a tight second–round contest 7–5, 4–6, 5–10, but bounced back in style by claiming the consolation draw title, which stood out as one of the highlights of the weekend.
Nicolas Donoso and Brayden Kopp both delivered dominant wins in their first matches, while Cesar Otondo Villafan recorded a strong 6–1, 6–0 victory before exiting in the round of 32.
Doubles play also brought plenty of positives. The pairing of Otondo and Donoso made the deepest run, advancing all the way to the quarterfinals before falling just short against a tough opponent. Bavich and Kopp also competed strongly, bowing out against the number one seeds and eventual tournament champions from Missouri Baptist University.
Overall, it was a weekend of encouraging results for Judson, highlighted by Bavich's consolation draw title and the doubles success of Otondo and Donoso. The Eagles will look to carry that momentum into their upcoming road match against Bethel on Tuesday September 30th.
