Tennis Fall Season Recap
10/28/2019 7:06:00 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
Giraldo Shines at ITA Central Region Championships
Kansas City's fall tennis season came to a close on Saturday afternoon at the ITA Men's Central Region Championships with a strong showing by junior Diego Giraldo. After drawing the 28-seed, Giraldo qualified to the round of 16. He was one of just two players from a mid-major conference to make it that far, joining Drake's Evan Fragistas. After a first round bye, Giraldo defeated Omaha's Alvaro Quintana (6-3, 6-3) and Iowa's Nikita Snezhko (5-7, 6-3, 6-2).
"He made good use of his summer time and his training," Head Coach Kendell Hale said. "He's a guy that's always trying to do extra work and get it done, and it's paid off."
After defeating Snezhko in three sets, Giraldo was tasked with another tough opponent in Oklahoma's Mark Mandlik. After dropping the first set 6-2, he was able to break Mandlik's serve early and often, running away with the second set and only falling in one game. The advantage swung back in the direction of the Sooner in the deciding set, and Giraldo fell 6-3.
"He's still not playing his best right now," Hale said. "I've seen him play a lot, lot better. This tournament wasn't his best and yet he still found ways to get it done. I think he's ready for his best year yet."
Senior Tom Kruse also played well at the ITA Championships, defeating Drake's Freddie Powell in the round of 128 before falling in a heartbreaker to Oklahoma State's Mathieu Scaglia, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3). The duo of Giraldo and Kruse played together in doubles, falling in a tiebreaker to the second-seeded team out of Oklahoma, Van Emburgh and Mandlik. Kacper Piekarek, Jake Fraunfelder, Neil O'Connor, Brian King and Daniel Izadifar also made the trip for the Roos, each falling in their first match.
"We've got a lot to work on in the offseason," Hale said. "We're going to come back a better team. We've got some good standout individuals, but as a team we need to get better. We need to work on the lower lineup."
Giraldo and Kruse had also traveled to the All-America Championships in Tulsa, Okla. early in the month, where both fell in the pre-qualifying rounds.
The women's team competed in the ITA Central Region Championships a week before the men. Riddhi Sharma and Yana Grechkina played in the main draw singles bracket, each falling in the round of 128. Grechkina and Michela Xibilia played together in the doubles draw, falling 8-6 to a squad from Wichita State in the first round. Thanushree Vale, Grace Ball and Xibila fell in the prequalifying round of singles play, despite a three set effort from Xibila against Oral Roberts' Aliksandra Ledbedeva. Ball then played in the consolation round, defeating St. Louis' Cassie McKenzie (6-2, 6-1).
"Riddhi played well to get into the main draw, and then lost a tough one to a really tough opponent," Hale said. "Our strength is our depth. We're really good all the way through, so we just need to solidify the girls to a good spot."
Players Mentioned
