Chris Simich Captures New Zealand ITF Boys Indoor Championship
August 03, 2011 | Men's Tennis
Aug. 3, 2011
University of Louisville incoming freshman Chris Simich recently won the 2011 New Zealand International Tennis Federation Boys Indoor Championship.
The Auckland, New Zealand native registered four straight wins to reach the title match, where he defeated Omar Jasika 7-5, 6-4. Simich received a first round bye and went on to beat Sean Cook 6-2, 6-2 in the second round. He picked up straight-set wins over Richard Hornby and Ben Davies to reach the quarterfinals, where he defeated James Sheppard 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.
"When I was recruiting Chris, I felt that he had a lot of potential," said U of L head coach Rex Ecarma. "He has the two attributes that I look for which are hunger with humility. His potential is already starting to show with this big tournament win. There are a lot of very good college players that have never won an ITF junior tournament. He reminds me of 2010 Big East Tournament MVP, Robert Hall, in this regard. Robert was the last guy standing at the end of quite a few big junior tournaments before he arrived on campus. Winning a tournament signifies a person who can finish the task at hand."
New Zealand ITF Boys Indoor Championships
1st Round - Bye
2nd Round - Chris Simich d. Sean Cook 6-2, 6-2
3rd Round -Simich d. Richard Hornby 6-1, 6-1
Quarterfinals - Simich d. Ben Davies 7-5, 6-2
Semifinals - Simich d. James Sheppard 6-1 5-7 6-2
Finals - Simich d. Omar Jasika 7-5 6-4
Players Mentioned
