PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Norfolk State men's tennis team competed at the Penn Invitational over the weekend, where they posted wins over players from Lehigh, St. Peter's and Niagara.
Sophomore Dzmitry Zyhmantovich went 4-0 and junior Daniel Grauel went 3-1 in singles play. Zyhmantovich competed at the No. 1 spot and Grauel competed at the No. 3 position.
The Spartans got things started in doubles play against Lehigh, where they went 3-0. Zyhmantovich and junior Peter Ramstromer-Pello defeated Mark Goldberg and Mitchell Petersen, 6-5(4). Junior Igor Braga and sophomore Robin Riethmueller upended Jeremy Kochman and Ben Gilman, 6-2. Grauel and sophomore Samuel Lemberger closed things out in the doubles competition with a 6-4 win against Colin Nardella and Ethan Bogard.
NSU also claimed three victories in the singles competition against Lehigh. Zyhmantovich defeated Gilaman, 6-5(5), 6-2, Grauel posted a 6-5(7), 3-6, 6-1 win over Petersen, and Ramstromer-Pello also notched a 6-5(3), 6-3 win against Bogard at the No. 5 position. Braga fell to Kochman, 6-1, 1-6, 2-6 in the No. 2 slot and senior Kent Austin suffered a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Nardella in the No. 6 spot.
The Spartans also competed against players from St. Peter's and Niagara. Riethmueller and Braga led off for the Spartans in doubles play with an 8-2 win over St. Peter's Carlos Carrera and Tom Jottrand. Lemberger and Ramstromer-Pello defeated Jorge Rodriguez and Luke Whaley of St. Peter's, 8-1. Grauel and Zyhmantovich rounded out doubles play with an 8-1 win over Niagara's Matt Mackowski and Joseph Gentile.
In singles play, Zyhmantovich defeated Carrera, 6-0, 1-0. Carrera retired due to injury. Zyhmantovich also claimed a 4-6, 6-5(5), 6-2 win against Niagara's Michael Elortegui. Grauel posted a 6-0, 6-4 win against Rodriguez. Braga competed in the No. 4 position, where he defeated Whaley, 6-2, 6-0. Lemberger posted a 6-0, 6-0 win over Mackowski in the No. 5 spot. At the No. 6 position, Ramstromer-Pello came away with a 6-3, 6-0 win against Inaki Belloso. The only loss for NSU came at the No. 2 position as Riethmueller fell to Jottrand, 6-5(3). Riethmueller retired due to injury.
NSU struggled against players from Duquesne in the doubles competition. Braga and Riethmueller suffered a 6-2 loss to Pete Carpenter and Alex Aleman at the No. 1 position. In the No. 2 spot, Austin and Zyhmantovich fell to Max Rubin and Corey Robinson, 6-2. Ramstromer-Pello and Grauel competed at the No. 3 position, where they lost to Rich Robbie and Mehdi Mekaoui, 6-3.
The Spartans picked up three wins against Duquesne in singles play. Zyhmantovich claimed a 6-5(7), 6-5(4) win against Robinson. Grauel defeated Robbie, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0(5). In the No. 4 spot, Braga posted a 6-1, 6-0 win over Aleman. Riethmueller competed at the No. 2 position, where he fell to Carpenter, 6-2, 2-0. Riethmueller retired due to illness. At the No. 5 slot, Ramstromer-Pello suffered a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Rubin. Austin closed things out for NSU in singles play with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Mekaoui.
NSU will travel to Charlottesville, Va., for the U.Va. Fall Classic on Oct. 4-6.
