Men's Tennis Summer Update
July 17, 2013 | Men's Tennis
July 17, 2013
The University of Louisville's Jeffrey Brown won the doubles draw ITA Summer Circuit hosted by Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Chris Simich reached the semifinals of the Blockhouse Bay Tournament in New Zealand.
Brown, a rising sophomore from Mandeville, La., teamed with Steven Patrick to post three straight doubles wins. The duo defeated Zachary Kuo and Adam Decker 8-6 and were up 4-2 in the semifinals when their opponents retired. Brown and Patrick clinched the doubles title with an 8-2 win over Evan Watkins and Jordan Hart.
"Jeffrey's confidence is picking up especially in doubles," said Rex Ecarma. "He played some big doubles matches for us his freshman year, but he wants to play every doubles match his sophomore year. It is good to see his determination."
Simich, a rising junior from Auckland, New Zealand, was the No. 2 seed in the 64-person draw of the Blockhouse Bay Tournament. Simich tallied three straight wins to reach the semifinals. After receiving a first round by, Simich defeated Martin Wilcox 6-1, 6-0 and Liam Stoica 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals where he bested Edward Stoica 3-6, 6-2, 10-4. In the semifinals, Simich fell 6-3, 7-6 to third-seeded Sam Matheson.
"This is the second semifinal showing for Chris," said Ecarma. "The Blockhouse Bay Open had a nice-sized draw and brings in players from all over New Zealand. Chris is really working diligently to ready his game for the top half of the lineup."
