Oct. 18, 2003

NORFOLK, Va. - Consolation men's and women's singles and a few women's doubles matches took center stage for the George Mason tennis teams Saturday (Oct. 18) at the Old Point National Bank Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Invitational held in Norfolk, VA. The Patriots had several players in action on day two of the event, including one men's player looking to advance into the main draw semifinals.

Mason men's tennis player Tito Ballester (Lima, Peru/Winthrop) was the only Patriot singles contestant still involved in a main draw match following Friday's action. The 6-0 senior, who won twice yesterday earning a spot in the quarterfinals, saw his day come to an end after a 6-4, 6-3 loss to NC State in flight A.

Among men's players in the consolation rounds, junior Tim Bainton (Chobham Surrey, UK) topped his opponent from Howard 9-8(8) in the first round of the flight A back draw. He would lose his next match 8-2 to Campbell. Sophomore Stephan Dufils (Paris, France/Palmer Academy) dropped his first round flight A consolation contest 8-2 to an opponent from American. Sophomore Miles Hughes (Lowry, VA/Jefferson Forest) fell to Longwood 8-4 in flight C-1. Freshman Phu Le (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) was downed 8-6 to a foe from Longwood in flight C-2, while sophomore Eric Vogel (Fairfax Station, VA/W.T. Woodson) defaulted his flight D consolation match.

On the women's side, sophomore Jenn Dektas (Maineville, OH/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) was handed an 8-0 defeat from a Campbell opponent in the flight A-1 back draw quarterfinals. Freshman Maricel Ballester (Lima, Peru) also dropped an 8-0 consolation match to her opponent from East Carolina in flight A-2. Junior Jamie Delorie (McMurray, PA/Peters Township/St. Francis) fell 8-2 to Mary Washington in the flight B-1 back draw, while junior Katie Sloper (Alexandria, VA/Bishop Ireton) lost an 8-5 decision to Radford in flight B-2.

Also in action was senior Deepti Bhalla (Lorton, VA/Hayfield), who was bested 8-2 in the flight C-1 back draw by an opponent from George Washington. A foe from Radford downed sophomore Caroline Kanaskie (West Chester, PA/Unionville) 8-1 in a D-1 flight consolation contest. Junior Natalie Oudar (Manassas, VA/Osbourn) was handed an 8-4 setback from her flight D-2 opponent from Virginia Wesleyan.

Women's doubles tandem Dektas and Delorie dropped an 8-0 flight A-1 main draw match to a team from Old Dominion. Kanaskie and Oudar fell 8-6 to a duo from Delaware in flight D.

Following Saturday's action, both the men's and women's teams concluded play at the event, which finishes its final championship rounds Sunday. The two teams must now await pairings for the upcoming ITA regional championships, as the men head to the ITA Mideast Region Championship, which will be held Oct. 22-26 at North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and the women focus on the ITA Eastern Region Championship at Virginia Tech, Oct. 24-28.