Tech kicks open the fall slate at their first tournament of the season, traveling to Athens, Ga. for Southern Intercollegiates. The Jackets took up the courts against teams like Clemson, South Carolina and the University of Georgia (u[sic]GA).
The day kicked off with doubles action indoors. The games were decided in single sets, so the Jackets needed to bring their best game immediately. The pairing of senior Nate Bonetto and freshman Gianluca Carlini got off to a strong start, securing a hard-fought 7-6 (9-7) victory over South Carolina’s duo of sophomore Jelani Sarr and freshman Atakan Karahan. Their solid performance earned them a spot in the red draw quarter finals where they faced the UGA duo of senior Thomas Paulsell and senior Ryan Colby. Despite their best efforts, the Tech pair fell 4-6.
In the same red draw, sophomores Krish Arora and Richard Biagiotti struggled, losing to Georgia’s sophomores Freddy Blaydes and Niels Ratiu with a score of 1-6. They later competed in the west quarterfinals but were defeated 6-0 by Mercer’s junior Nemanja Stefanovic and senior Marceau Fouilhoux.
In the black draw, UNCW’s senior Trey Mallory and junior Lukas Steffen bested Techs duo of sophomore Owen DeMuth and junior Christophe Clement, while junior Robert Bauer and senior Rohan Sachdev came up short against Georgia State University’s freshman duo Baran Soyler and Brian Capalnean, losing 6-7 (2-7).
On the singles front, Tech managed to secure four victories. In the black draw, Biagiotti faced a tough opponent in Blaydes and lost 1-6, 4-6. However, Arora recorded a solid win, defeating Clemson junior Romain Gales 6-4, 6-1. In the red draw, Bonetto competed alone and was narrowly defeated by junior Nicolas Kotzen of Columbia University with a score of 4-6, 6-7 (1-7).
Carlini had a successful outing, winning his match against redshirt freshman Kaetan Mehta of Clemson 6-2, 6-4. Meanwhile, Clement emerged victorious in the silver draw, overcoming freshman Cole Henceroth from South Carolina with a score of 6-1, 6-4. In the same draw, redshirt senior Matt Pitts of Clemson defeated Sachdev 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Bauer and graduate Max Damm of Clemson battled in the white draw. Damm took the first set 2-6, but Bauer returned to form quickly — a grueling 13 games later, Bauer claimed the second set 7-6 in a 7-3 tiebreaker. He carried this momentum to win the match after a 6-2 third set. However, freshman Shingo Masuda of Mercer defeated DeMuth 6-3, 7-5.
On the second day of the tournament, Tech’s doubles teams had a mixed performance. Bonetto and Carlini secured a win against Clemson’s sophomore Noa Vukadin and senior Maxwell Smith with a score of 7-6 (7-1). However, Clement and DeMuth fell to the freshman duo of Cole Henceroth and Gabe Avram 6-3.
In singles action, Bonetto displayed remarkable resilience by overcoming sophomore Sean Darybeigi of South Carolina with a scoreline of 5-7, 7-6, 6-3. After losing the first set, Bonetto dug deep by saving multiple match points in the second set. He then powered through in the final set to secure a hard-fought victory. Unfortunately, he was defeated by senior Oscar Pinto Sansano from u[sic]GA in his second match.
Clement continued his strong showing, with a convincing victory against freshman Mikey Anderson from Arizona State 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 to advance in the silver draw. Clement’s performance earned him a place in the finals, highlighting his impressive run in the tournament.
On the closing day of the Southern Intercollegiates, Tech’s men’s tennis team wrapped up their tournament with a mix of triumphs and challenges. In doubles action, Bonetto and Carlini claimed a thrilling 7-6 victory over freshman Viktor Markov and sophomore Marko Mesarovic from Clemson, though they could not advance further after dropping a close contest with junior Constantinos Koshis and sophomore Daniel Phillips of Arizona State.
Bonetto showed resilience by winning his first match of the day 7-6, 2-6, 6-4 against Mesarovic but fell short in his second match against Sansano. In singles, Clement had a standout performance, winning both his matches decisively to secure the silver flight title. He defeated Pitts 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals and then Stewart Aronson 6-4, 6-2 in the finals, ending the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record. Meanwhile, Sachdev excelled with straight-set victories over Henceroth and Daniel Phillips of Arizona State, showcasing his impressive form on the final day.
Tech will look to take the lessons learned from the Southern Intercollegiate into the ITA All-American Championships from Sept. 21 to Sept. 29 in Tulsa, Okla. They then head to Lake Nona, Fla. to compete in the Southeast Regionals from Oct. 10 to Oct. 15 in before returning to the Ken Byers Tennis Complex to host the Georgia Tech Invite from Nov. 1 to Nov. 3.