FLUSHING, N.Y. - Saint Michael's College men's tennis senior
Garrett Brooker (Charleston, S.C./Oceanside Collegiate Academy) and sophomore
Ferm Koppelmans (Veghel, The Netherlands/Udens College) picked up wins on the first day of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Regional Championship on Friday. The tournament, featuring singles and doubles draws, is occurring at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open grand slam event since 1978.
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LEADERS
- Brooker, 1 win
- Koppelmans, 1 win
TOURNAMENT FACTS
- The Purple Knights had seven players entered in the 55-slot singles draw while three doubles tandems were placed among 28 spots in that bracket.
- Saint Michael's men's tennis players competed at the ITA East Regional Championship for only the fourth time, but for the third straight year.
- Brooker became only the second Purple Knight to earn a seed at the tournament, claiming the 16th seed. Josh Weiss '23 was the No. 29 seed during the 2019 ITA East Regional Championship.
THE ACTION
- Six Purple Knights appeared in the singles round of 64 on Friday. As the No. 16 seed, Brooker began play with a 6-3, 6-1 win over a Southern New Hampshire University foe before losing in the round of 32, 7-5, 6-3, to a Queens College first-year whose lone college match thus far had been a straight-set win against Division I Hofstra University.
- Koppelmans downed a Franklin Pierce University opponent, 6-3, 6-1, in the round of 64 before losing to the No. 11 seed from Adelphi University, 6-2, 6-2.
- Senior Viktor Boban (Zagreb, Croatia/Franjo Bucar/Frostburg State) fell in the round of 64, 6-4, 5-7, 10-5, against a Franklin Pierce student-athlete, while first-year Benji Deshayes (Walloon Brabant, Belgium/Home Schooled) lost to a Raven who regularly appears in his team's top two spots by a 6-3, 6-2 count. Junior Jamie Macpherson (Durham, United Kingdom/Framwellgate School Durham) lost 6-2, 6-2 against the No. 14 seed from Saint Thomas Aquinas College, and first-year Nils Nyman (Sigtuna, Sweden/Stockholms Idrottsgymnasium) was downed by a Southern New Hampshire player.
- In doubles play, Koppelmans and Macpherson advanced thanks to their opponents from Queens withdrawing due to injury in the round of 32. They are the lone Purple Knight duo to ever advance to the round of 16, having also moved on at last fall's championship. The partners will take on a Franklin Pierce tandem on Saturday.
- The Purple and Gold's other two doubles teams lost by matching 8-7 (7-3) decisions in the round of 32. Boban and Brooker teamed against a Southern New Hampshire duo, while Deshayes and Nyman lost to Saint Thomas Aquinas in their first match together.
NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S EVENT
- Koppelmans and Macpherson continue doubles play on Saturday at the ITA East Regional Championship.
