Mertz and Molnar Advance at All-American Championships
10/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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On Sunday afternoon, the two members of the Alabama tennis team advanced to the qualifying round of the Icy Hot/ITA All-American Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Crimson Tide also placed one doubles team into the qualifying round.
Freshman Billy Mertz won all three of his matches in the pre-qualifying singles of the Championships to earn a berth into the qualifying round. Along the way Mertz won four matches and defeated two seeded players, including top seed Zoltan Bus, 6-2, 6-1. Mertz has now won his first eight collegiate tennis matches and is 8-0 on the year.
“Billy is playing great tennis right now,” said Alabama head coach Billy Pate. “He is doing this in his first two tournaments, so he is way ahead of the curve. He is playing smart right now and is giving himself a chance to win every time he plays.”
Eric Molnar won three of his four matches in the pre-qualifying round, his lone loss coming to Matt Berry in the Round of 16. However, Molnar received a “Lucky Loser” spot into the qualifying round.
In the Round of 64, Molnar fought back after dropping the opening set to Lee Gregg, 4-6, to win the final two sets, 6-1, 6-1.
In all, Alabama will have four competitors in the qualifying rounds which begin Monday. Along with Mertz and Molnar who played their way into qualifying rounds, the Tide’s Joseph Jung and Luigi D’Agord have already locked down positions. Jung received an invitation into the qualifying rounds due to his No. 80 national ranking. D’Agord received a wild card.
“We’ve done really well here this weekend,” said Pate. “We feel positive about the results and now we have a chance to take it a step further.”
In doubles action, the Tide’s duo of D’Agord and Molnar also secured a place in the qualifying rounds. They defeated the Texas tandem of Chodkiewicz and Gubser in the Round of 16 to advance to the qualifying rounds of the Championshp. D’Agord and Molnar won all three of their matches this weekend.
The complete, up-to-date results are posted below.
Round of 256
Billy Mertz d. Luis Avila, 6-0, 6-3
RJ Murray d. Diego Alvarado, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
Anton Tsymbalov d. Jordie Kindervater, 7-5, 6-2
Jack Frankowicz d. Andrew Felsenthal, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
Singles
Round of 128
Billy Mertz d. (1) Zoltan Bus 6-2, 6-1
(17) Paul Warkentin d. RJ Murray, 6-2, 6-3
(1) Eric Molnar d. Jhonny Berrido 6-4, 6-1
Round of 64
Billy Mertz d. Jeff French, 6-1, 6-4
(1) Eric Molnar d. Brady Crosby 6-3, 6-3
Round of 32
Billy Mertz d. (17) Ryusuke Kashiwabara, 6-4, 7-5
(1)Eric Molnar d. Lee Gregg, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
Round of 16
Matt Berry d. (1) Eric Molnar, 4-6, 6-3, 5-2Ret (inj)
Doubles
Round of 64
D’Agord/Molnar d. Autran/Rojas, 8-2
Crosby/Orozco d. Mertz/Murray, 8-6
Round of 32
D’Agord/Molnar d. Kutschera/Navarro, 8-2
Round of 16
D’Agord/Molnar d. Chodkiewicz/Gubser, 9-8(1)
