Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus Utah Invitational on October 3, 2025
Men's Tennis
vs Utah Invitational
Friday, January 31
Salt Lake City, UT
12:00 PM
University of Utah
4
vs
1
East Tennessee State
Photo by: Clare Mullin
Men's Tennis Edges East Tennessee State
1/31/2020 3:44 PM | Men's Tennis
SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah men's tennis team recorded a 4-1 victory Friday afternoon against East Tennessee State to begin their weekend of three matches. The Utes are now 3-2 on the season, and 3-0 at home in the George S. Eccles Tennis Center.
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"We beat a really good team today," said head coach Roeland Brateanu. "You could tell that East Tennessee State came in here ready to play and they are fighters. I'm really proud of the team and how we responded to last weekend's close losses. They were heartbreakers. To come back the way that we did and fight as hard as we did, I'm proud of this win and I'm hoping we can get two more tomorrow."
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Looking to take a lead early with the doubles point, the freshmen duo of Franco Capalbo and Wally Thayne picked up the first doubles win for Utah with a 6-3 victory on court No. 2 against Frazier Rengifo and Chris Mikrovas. Putting East Tennessee State behind 1-0, Randy Cory and Russell Benkaim sealed the doubles point with a win at the No. 1 spot, as they downed Juan Lugo and Yusuf Khamis, 6-4.
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In singles, Thayne picked up a quick 6-1 first set win and followed with a 7-5 second set win to top Dylan Bednarczyk at the No. 5 position. Mathias Gavelin then followed with a win on the No. 4 court, beating out Dimitri Badra with a score of 6-1, 7-6. With the score at 3-1 and Utah just needing one more win, courts 1-3 would result in split sets and were forced to go to the third set. At the No. 3 spot, Slava Shainyan built a 4-1 lead in the third set and then pulled through in the clutch to win 6-3 and seal the match for Utah while the other courts were battling. Shainyan defeated Juan Lugo 7-6, 6-4, 6-3, to give the Utes the 4-1 win over the Buccaneers.Â
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The Utah men's tennis team will be back in action tomorrow afternoon to host two matches at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center. The first match of the day will come against Nevada at 12 p.m. MT, followed by a match against Montana at 5 p.m. MT to wrap up the weekend's competition.
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Utah 4, Eastern Tennessee 1
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Doubles (2,1)
Cory/Benkaim (UU) def. Lugo/Khamis (ETSU), 6-4
Capalbo/Thayne (UU) def. Rengifo/Mikrovas (ETSU), 6-3
Badra/Este (ETSU) vs. Shainyan/Hankuliyev (UU), 5-1, unf.
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Singles (6,5,4,3)
Franco Capalbo (UU) vs. Yusuf Khamis (ETSU), 7-6, 3-6, 3-4, unf.
Russell Benkaim (UU) vs. Frazier Rengifo (ETSU), 7-6, 6-7, 5-2, unf.
Slava Shainyan (UU) def. Juan Lugo (ETSU), 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
Mathias Gavelin (UU) def. Dimitri Badra (ETSU), 6-4, 7-6
Wally Thayne (UU) def. Dylan Bednarczyk (ETSU), 6-1, 7-6
Miguel Este (ETSU) def. Paul McCallie (UU), 7-5, 6-3
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"We beat a really good team today," said head coach Roeland Brateanu. "You could tell that East Tennessee State came in here ready to play and they are fighters. I'm really proud of the team and how we responded to last weekend's close losses. They were heartbreakers. To come back the way that we did and fight as hard as we did, I'm proud of this win and I'm hoping we can get two more tomorrow."
Â
Looking to take a lead early with the doubles point, the freshmen duo of Franco Capalbo and Wally Thayne picked up the first doubles win for Utah with a 6-3 victory on court No. 2 against Frazier Rengifo and Chris Mikrovas. Putting East Tennessee State behind 1-0, Randy Cory and Russell Benkaim sealed the doubles point with a win at the No. 1 spot, as they downed Juan Lugo and Yusuf Khamis, 6-4.
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In singles, Thayne picked up a quick 6-1 first set win and followed with a 7-5 second set win to top Dylan Bednarczyk at the No. 5 position. Mathias Gavelin then followed with a win on the No. 4 court, beating out Dimitri Badra with a score of 6-1, 7-6. With the score at 3-1 and Utah just needing one more win, courts 1-3 would result in split sets and were forced to go to the third set. At the No. 3 spot, Slava Shainyan built a 4-1 lead in the third set and then pulled through in the clutch to win 6-3 and seal the match for Utah while the other courts were battling. Shainyan defeated Juan Lugo 7-6, 6-4, 6-3, to give the Utes the 4-1 win over the Buccaneers.Â
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The Utah men's tennis team will be back in action tomorrow afternoon to host two matches at the George S. Eccles Tennis Center. The first match of the day will come against Nevada at 12 p.m. MT, followed by a match against Montana at 5 p.m. MT to wrap up the weekend's competition.
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Utah 4, Eastern Tennessee 1
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Doubles (2,1)
Cory/Benkaim (UU) def. Lugo/Khamis (ETSU), 6-4
Capalbo/Thayne (UU) def. Rengifo/Mikrovas (ETSU), 6-3
Badra/Este (ETSU) vs. Shainyan/Hankuliyev (UU), 5-1, unf.
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Singles (6,5,4,3)
Franco Capalbo (UU) vs. Yusuf Khamis (ETSU), 7-6, 3-6, 3-4, unf.
Russell Benkaim (UU) vs. Frazier Rengifo (ETSU), 7-6, 6-7, 5-2, unf.
Slava Shainyan (UU) def. Juan Lugo (ETSU), 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
Mathias Gavelin (UU) def. Dimitri Badra (ETSU), 6-4, 7-6
Wally Thayne (UU) def. Dylan Bednarczyk (ETSU), 6-1, 7-6
Miguel Este (ETSU) def. Paul McCallie (UU), 7-5, 6-3
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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