Groves Comes Close at ITA Regional Tournament

September 28, 2009

Alexander City, AL - For the seventh straight year, the Oxford College men's and women's tennis teams participated in the ITA Regional Tournament, hosted by Central Alabama Community College.  Historically, one of the toughest regional tournaments for 2-year schools in the country, an Oxford player accomplished a feat not obtained by any previous Oxford player.  Ayanna Groves (Atlanta, GA; Woodward Academy), in her first collegiate competition, progressed all the way to the final round of the tournament before falling to defending champion Rachel Rossi (Marion Military Academy) 6-7 (4-7), 6-0, 6-4.  Along the way, Groves won 4 matches over players from Central Alabama, Young Harris and Marion Military - including wins over the #5 and 2 seeds.  This is the first time that any Oxford singles player has made it to the final round of this tournament.

Also competing for the Oxford Women's team were Vyjoo Lakshmipathy (Duluth, GA; Peachtree Ridge High School), Hima Nannapaneni (Southborough, MA; St. Mark's School) and Joyce Juang (Newtown, PA; Council Rock North High School) - all are first year players for the Eagles.

For the men's team, Sophomore captain, Chris Dickson (Miami, FL; Westminster Christian School) earned a spot in the Semifinals before falling to the eventual champion Laurenz Schraepen, from Young Harris College.  Sophomore, and two-time All-American, Ben Freedman (Chatham, NY; The Taft School) made it to the quarterfinals where he lost to the tournament runner-up from Young Harris in three sets.  Last year's #1 singles player, Emilio Casillas (Miami, FL; Miami Palmetto Senior High), also fell to Schraepen in the second round.  Sophomore James Byrd (Nashville, TN; The University School) also competed for the Eagles.

Doubles went a little better for Oxford, with the team of Freedman/Byrd winning one round before falling to the eventual champion team from Young Harris.  The team of Dickson/Casillas progressed to the semifinals before losing to a team from Gadsden State.

Full tournament results for both the men and women can be found online at:  http://www.itatennis.com/Events/Wilson_ITA_Regional_Championships.htm .