Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus Utah Invitational on October 3, 2025
Men's Tennis
vs Utah Invitational
Sunday, January 26
Columbus, OH
8:00 AM
University of Utah
3
vs
4
Purdue (ITA Kickoff)
Photo by: Steve Kinslow
Men's Tennis Falls Short to Purdue to Close Out ITA Kickoff Weekend
1/26/2020 12:09 PM | Men's Tennis
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Utah men's tennis team closed out the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Sunday morning, as they faced off against Purdue and fell to the Boilermakers in a tightly contested match, 3-4, at the Ohio State Varsity Tennis Courts.
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"Very proud of the battle our team showed out there today," said head coach Roeland Brateanu. "We might have lost, but I thought that we really became more of a team today and played much better than the day before."
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Purdue picked up an early win at the No. 1 doubles where Utah's top duo of Randy Cory and Russell Benkaim fell to Athell Bennett and Maksymillian Raupuk with a score of 2-6. With the No. 2 and No. 3 courts tightly contested the entire match, Purdue eventually earned the doubles point as Azat Hankuliyev and Slava Shainyan fell at the No. 3 spot against Sebastian Welch and Mateo Julio, 6-7 (4-7).Â
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Utah then bounced back in singles, starting with a win at the No. 3 position by Mathias Gavelin. Gavelin downed Maksymillian Raupuk, 6-1, 6-4, to tie the match at 1-1. Entering the lineup for the first time this season, Paul McCallie notched a win of his own on the No. 6 court, along with Slava Shainyan earning another victory on court four. McCallie pulled off a three-set win as he topped Julian Saborio 6-4, 3-6, 6-0. Shainyan knocked off Michal Wozniak 6-2, 6-3, to give the Utes a 3-1 lead and looking for one more win.Â
Purdue took the matches from the No. 1 and No. 2 positions to square the match at 3-3. Coming down to the match on court five, Sebastian Welch defeated Wally Thayne in a match where both sets went to tiebreakers. With the win, Purdue defeated Utah in a nail-biting 4-3 match.
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The Utah men's tennis team will be back in action next week, returning to the George S. Eccles Tennis Center for three home matches. The Utes are first set to face off against East Tennessee State on Friday, Jan. 31, at 12 p.m. MT, followed by two matches on Saturday, Feb. 1 against Nevada at 12 p.m. MT and Montana at 5 p.m. MT.
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Purdue 4, Utah 3
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Doubles (1,3)
1. Athell Bennett/Maksymillian Raupuk (PUR) def. Randy Cory/Russell Benkaim (UTAH) 6-2Â
2. Wally Thayne/Franco Capalbo (UTAH) vs. Julian Saborio/Michal Wozniak (PUR) 6-6, unf.
3. Sebastian Welch/Mateo Julio (PUR) def. Azat Hankuliyev/Slava Shainyan (UTAH) 7-6 (7-4)
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Singles (3,6,4,2,1,5)
1. #45 Athell Bennett (PUR) def. Russell Benkaim (UTAH) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4Â
2. Mateo Julio (PUR) def. Franco Capalbo (UTAH) 7-5, 6-3Â
3. Mathias Gavelin (UTAH) def. Maksymillian Raupuk (PUR) 6-1, 6-4Â
4. Slava Shainyan (UTAH) def. Michal Wozniak (PUR) 6-2, 6-3Â
5. Sebastian Welch (PUR) def. Wally Thayne (UTAH) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)Â
6. Paul McCallie (UTAH) def. Julian Saborio (PUR) 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
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"Very proud of the battle our team showed out there today," said head coach Roeland Brateanu. "We might have lost, but I thought that we really became more of a team today and played much better than the day before."
Â
Purdue picked up an early win at the No. 1 doubles where Utah's top duo of Randy Cory and Russell Benkaim fell to Athell Bennett and Maksymillian Raupuk with a score of 2-6. With the No. 2 and No. 3 courts tightly contested the entire match, Purdue eventually earned the doubles point as Azat Hankuliyev and Slava Shainyan fell at the No. 3 spot against Sebastian Welch and Mateo Julio, 6-7 (4-7).Â
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Utah then bounced back in singles, starting with a win at the No. 3 position by Mathias Gavelin. Gavelin downed Maksymillian Raupuk, 6-1, 6-4, to tie the match at 1-1. Entering the lineup for the first time this season, Paul McCallie notched a win of his own on the No. 6 court, along with Slava Shainyan earning another victory on court four. McCallie pulled off a three-set win as he topped Julian Saborio 6-4, 3-6, 6-0. Shainyan knocked off Michal Wozniak 6-2, 6-3, to give the Utes a 3-1 lead and looking for one more win.Â
Purdue took the matches from the No. 1 and No. 2 positions to square the match at 3-3. Coming down to the match on court five, Sebastian Welch defeated Wally Thayne in a match where both sets went to tiebreakers. With the win, Purdue defeated Utah in a nail-biting 4-3 match.
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The Utah men's tennis team will be back in action next week, returning to the George S. Eccles Tennis Center for three home matches. The Utes are first set to face off against East Tennessee State on Friday, Jan. 31, at 12 p.m. MT, followed by two matches on Saturday, Feb. 1 against Nevada at 12 p.m. MT and Montana at 5 p.m. MT.
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Purdue 4, Utah 3
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Doubles (1,3)
1. Athell Bennett/Maksymillian Raupuk (PUR) def. Randy Cory/Russell Benkaim (UTAH) 6-2Â
2. Wally Thayne/Franco Capalbo (UTAH) vs. Julian Saborio/Michal Wozniak (PUR) 6-6, unf.
3. Sebastian Welch/Mateo Julio (PUR) def. Azat Hankuliyev/Slava Shainyan (UTAH) 7-6 (7-4)
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Singles (3,6,4,2,1,5)
1. #45 Athell Bennett (PUR) def. Russell Benkaim (UTAH) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4Â
2. Mateo Julio (PUR) def. Franco Capalbo (UTAH) 7-5, 6-3Â
3. Mathias Gavelin (UTAH) def. Maksymillian Raupuk (PUR) 6-1, 6-4Â
4. Slava Shainyan (UTAH) def. Michal Wozniak (PUR) 6-2, 6-3Â
5. Sebastian Welch (PUR) def. Wally Thayne (UTAH) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)Â
6. Paul McCallie (UTAH) def. Julian Saborio (PUR) 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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