The Weber State men’s tennis team hosted the Wildcat Invitational on Sept. 24 — the second tournament of the fall season.
Director of Tennis Brad Ferreira was excited to have his players getting some time on the court.
“That’s the purpose of these tournaments — to get the guys a lot of games in early in the year,” Ferreira said.
The Wildcats hosted Idaho State, Montana State, Southern Utah and Colorado Mesa. The tournament was a round robin style, allowing for plenty of gameplay over the weekend.
Although the tournament was originally scheduled to begin on Sept. 23, the storm delayed the start until about 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 24.
In Flight 1, freshman Kris van Wyk beat Nick Farmen of Colorado Mesa 6-2, 6-1, advancing to the quarterfinals where he dropped the match to Rok Sitar of Montana State, 6-7, 7-6 (11-9).
Junior Hou-En “Edward” Chen beat Southern Utah’s Guy Feigin, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round. Chen then took on Sebastian Eden of Idaho State, but the match was ended because of time constraints. Chen was beaten by Kellen Bates of Montana State, 7-6, 2-6 (11-9) in the semifinal round.
Junior Stefan Cooper topped Will Agritelley of Colorado Mesa, 6-4, 7-5. Cooper then lost to Bates in the quarterfinals by scores of 6-3, 3-6, 10-4.
In Flight 2, senior Scott Hintze beat Haseeb Khan of Idaho State 2-6, 7-5, 10-5, in the first round. Hintze then dropped to Montana State’s Adrian Torrico 6-2, 6-1 in the quarter finals.
Hintze beat Mateus Ceolin of MSU in the playoff for 5th and 6th place 6-3, 6-4.
Freshman Cezary Walkusz made it to the finals of Flight 2 after defeating Dallin Carrier of Southern Utah 6-0, 6-2, Oliver Lindquist of Colorado Mesa 6-2, 6-4, and Josh Goodwin of ISU 6-2, 6-4. Walkusz went into the final round undefeated, dropping to Torrico 6-2, 6-2.
After graduating four seniors last year, Ferreira said he is confident in the new players coming in to fill those openings on the team.
“I think the boys will do well,” Ferreira said. “We’ve got some good players that play good tennis.”
He spoke highly of van Wick — who defeated one of the nation’s top 200 players in a tournament.
As 2015-16 Big Sky Conference Champions, the Wildcat’s have high hopes for this season.
According to Ferreira, the fall season will play a big part in reaching that goal.
The Wildcats will next compete in the Boise State Invite beginning Oct. 6.
