ATHENS — Locally, it’s down to Georgia’s Will Spencer and Georgia State’s Abigail Tere-Apisah in the singles draw of the NCAA tennis championships.
Those were the only players representing local schools who managed to escape the second round and advance to the Round of 16. Spencer, a 9-16 seed who entered the tournament with a No. 11 national ranking by ITA, defeated Luka Somen of Virginia Tech 6-4, 7-5. Tere-Apisah, a sophomore who made history as the Panthers’ first female representative in this event, defeated Tennessee’s Kata Szekely 6-3, 6-4.
As one of the last 16 athletes standing in their respective draws, both players were automatically assigned All-American distinction. That was a particularly pleasant surprise for Tere-Apisah, who is from Papua New Guinea and had no idea it was even a possibility.
“I just feel so honored to be called an All-American,” said Tere-Apisah, who becomes the Panthers’ first All-American in tennis and just the 21st in school history in any sport. “I’m just honored and pleased and thankful. It’s something that is very special to me.”
Said Spencer: “It’s huge. The competition here is so tough and you want to get done as fast as you can. It’s good to get done in a timely fashion and not push it to three sets.”
Tere-Apisah (19-1) and Spencer will have their hands full getting to the quarterfinals. Tere-Apisah draws No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Allie Will (24-2) of two-time national team champion Florida. Spencer gets No. 2-seed Mitchell Frank of Virginia.
“She’s No. 1, so I know it’s going to be a tough match,” Tere-Apisah said of Will, a junior who has yet to lose a set here and is 24-2 this season, 107-12 in her career. “But I’m not thinking about she’s No. 1. I just have to be able to go out there and compete and play my own game.”
The Bulldogs placed a school-record five players in the singles draw. But two more went down in the second round, leaving Spencer to carry UGA’s flag. Senior Iganacio Taboada lost to 9-16 seed Alex Musialek of Kentucky 6-2, 6-7 (11-9), 6-4. Teammate Sadio Doumbia lost to Neal Skupski 6-3, 6-3.
“It’s a bittersweet moment,” Taboada, affectionately known as “Nacho” around Athens, said of his UGA career ending. “I am very happy to have shared two years here. I don’t regret anything, and I’m so happy for everything I have learned here and experience. I wish I could have two more years.”
Georgia Tech’s Kevin King also went out in singles play Thursday. The senior from Peachtree City, who came in with a No. 24 national ranking, lost to Ohio State’s Chase Buchanan 6-2, 6-4.
“I was missing a lot of first serves, and he played real steady,” said King, who finished 28-10 in singles this season. “He cut out his errors and made me work harder in that second set. He was able to pull out some long points and get a couple service breaks back.”
The doubles portion of the NCAA tournament got underway Thursday. King and teammate Juan Spir were representing Georgia Tech along with Alex Anghelescu and Jillian O’Neill. Georgia was represented by Nadja Gilchrist and Chelsey Gullickson.
King and Spir, which came in with a No. 3 seed, defeated Francis Alacantara and Remi Boutillier of Fresno State 7-6, 5-7, 6-2. Anghelescu-O’Neill, ranked 23rd, defeated Ana Belzunce and Welma Luus of Maryland 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. Gilchrist-Gullickson defeated Duke’s Beatrice Capra and Rachel Kahan 6-2, 7-5.
On Friday, King and Spir will play twin brothers Chris Thiemann and Marcel Thiemann of Ole Miss, Gilchrist and Gullickson will play Emina Bektas and Brooke Bolender of Michigan, and Anghelescu and O’Neill will face Lorraine Guillermo and Khunpak Issara of Pepperdine.
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