Oct. 25, 2004

Chapel Hill, N.C. - All nine members of the Wake Forest men's tennis team participated in the ITA Mideast Regional Championships at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this past weekend, Oct. 20-24. Players from across the Mideast competed for spots in the Nov. 4-7 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.

Freshmen Charles Sartor and John Shults, along with sophomore Will Chewning, competed in the qualifying singles draw. Sartor defeated Brandon Johnson of Radford, 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 64. He ended his play at the tournament with a 2-6, 1-6 loss to UNC's Will Plyler in the round of 32. Chewning was defeated by UNC-Greensboro's Chris Magnone in the round of 64, 5-7, 2-6. Shults also bowed out in the round of 64 to UVa's Jarrett Chirico, 0-6, 0-6.

Six players represented the Deacons in the singles main draw. Junior Liron Strauss defeated East Tenn. State's Felix Insaurralde, 6-3, 7-6(5), in the round of 128. In the round of 64, Strauss lost to Sergi Arumi of VCU, 1-6, 3-6. Sophomore Andrew Hamar also clinched a victory in the round of 128 with a win over UNC's Jonathan Janda, 6-1, 6-1. Hamar, however, lost in a three set match to Ga. Tech's Jose Muguruza, 6-1, 3-6, 2-6. Junior Joe Bates bowed out in the round of 128 to Andre Iriarte of NC State, 3-6, 1-6.

Senior Derrick Spice led the Deacs in the singles main draw by advancing to the round of 16. After receiving a bye in the round of 128, Spice defeated NC A&T's Damon Martin in the round of 64, 6-3, 6-3. In the round of 32, he secured a victory over Sean Kelleher of William and Mary, 6-3, 7-5. Spice's run was ended by Ga. Tech's Jose Muguruza in the round of 16, 6-1, 3-6, 2-6.

In the singles main draw action, sophomore Todd Paul received a bye in the round of 128. His first win was against Campbell's Jiri Beranek in the round of 64, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2. Paul bowed out in the round of 32 to UNC's Raian Luchici, 6-2, 4-6, 1-6. Junior Brett Ross also received a bye in the round of 128. In the round of 64, Old Dominion's Henrique Cancado defeated Ross in a close three-set match, 3-6, 6-4, 5-7.

The doubles team of Shults/Sartor began their play in the qualifying doubles round of 32 with a loss to Bobby McNally and Jeppy Moss of Richmond, 2-8. Bates/Strauss also competed in the qualifying doubles draw. They defeated Appalachian State's Andrew Taylor and Andrew Waters in the round of 32, 8-3. However, Bates/Strauss lost in the round of 16 to NC State's Will Shaw and Ben Zink, 6-8.

In the doubles main draw, Hamar/Paul defeated NC State's Dennis Myers and William Noblitt in the round of 32, 8-6. Hamar/Paul lost in the round of 16 to Nick Methayler and Rylan Rizza of UVa, 5-8. Wake's team of Ross/Spice picked up a victory against Maryland's Ian Bliss and Troy DeMers in the round of 32, 8-5. Ross/Spice ended their doubles play in the round of 16 against Duke's Stephen Amritraj and Peter Shults, 6-8.

The Demon Deacons will compete in the Crimson Tide Fall Championships next weekend in Tuscaloosa, AL, Oct. 29-31.