Sroczynski Reaches Singles Final at Summer Nationals
8/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Sophomore Mike Sroczynski(Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School) of the University of Michigan men's tennis team finished as the singles runner-up at the 2007 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Summer Championships, held this week (Aug. 11-14) at Indiana University's Varsity Tennis Center. Sroczynski collected five wins to advance to the championship match of the 128-player draw, earning him a wildcard entry into the qualifying round of the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships (Oct. 1-3).
Sroczynski, who captured the singles title during the first leg of the ITA Midwest Summer Circuit (July 7-9), received a first-round bye and then slipped by Stanford's Ted Kelly in a super-tiebreaker, 6-4, 1-6, 1-0(5) to advance to the third round. Straight-set victories over Washington University's John Watts (6-2, 6-2) and Wofford's Andrew Stubbs (6-2, 6-3) put Sroczynski in the quarterfinals against Dominic Ozanne of Ohio State.
Sroczynski continued his title run with an impressive 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Ozanne, and Sroczynski's fifth straight win -- a 7-5, 6-4 decision over Florida State's Chris Cloer -- placed him in the championship match. Tennessee's Chris Racz proved to be the only player who could solve Sroczynski, taking the title with a 7-6(6), 6-1 victory in the final.
Junior Mike DePietro(Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser HS) and sophomore George Navas(Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School) also had strong performances at the tournament, as both recorded quarterfinal finishes. DePietro put together four straight-set victories before falling to Cloer (6-3, 6-4), while Navas won three straight before exiting with a 6-1, 6-3 defeat to Racz. Navas and DePietro eliminated the third and fourth seeds, respectively, during the week.
Sophomore Matt Parks(Troy, Mich./Troy HS) played impressively as well, claiming five straight wins to reach the championship match in the consolation bracket. Parks fell just a few points shy of claiming the back draw title, falling 0-6, 6-3, 1-0(8) to Wake Forest's Jason Morgenstern.
The ITA National Summer Championships presented by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) are the pinnacle of the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, which was played at 23 regional sites throughout the country last month. This year's participation total of 2,589 players was the second-highest ever and just shy of last year's record of 2,624.
The singles and doubles champions from the ITA National Summer Championships earn wild cards into the first national tournaments of the 2007-08 collegiate tennis season -- the Polo Ralph Lauren Men's and Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships in October.
Following are match-by-match results:
SINGLES
Mike DePietro
First Round -- d. Kevin Crowley (Scottsdale CC), 6-2, 6-0
Second Round -- d. Marcus Zeilstra (Calvin College), 6-2, 6-3
Third Round -- d. Kyle Doppelt (Cornell), 7-6, 6-1
Fourth Round -- d. Amrit Narasimhan (Memphis), 7-5, 6-3
Quarterfinals -- l. Chris Cloer (Florida State), 6-3, 6-4
Finished with a 4-1 record
George Navas
First Round -- Bye
Second Round -- d. Tim Barnoud (Louisville), 6-3, 6-2
Third Round -- d. Cody Loup (Louisiana State), 6-2, 3-6, 1-0(2)
Fourth Round -- d. Mariusz Adamski (Wake Forest), 2-6, 6-4, 1-0(6)
Quarterfinals -- l. Chris Racz (Tennessee), 6-1, 6-3
Finished with a 3-1 record
Matt Parks
First Round -- l. Griffin Nienberg (Purdue), 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(8)
Consolation First Round -- d. C.J. Allen Williams (Richmond, Va.), 7-5, 6-7, 1-0(5)
Consolation Second Round -- d. Westin Wendt (Miami), 6-0, 6-1
Consolation Third Round -- d. Jose Perdomo (Ball State), 6-1, 6-1
Consolation Quarterfinals -- d. Peter Antons (Indiana), 0-6, 6-4, 1-0(9)
Consolation Semifinals -- d. Scott Lieberman (Vanderbilt), 6-3, 6-4
Consolation Championship Match -- l. Jason Morgenstern (Wake Forest), 0-6, 6-3, 1-0(8)
Finished as consolation runner-up with a 5-2 record
Mike Sroczynski
First Round -- Bye
Second Round -- d. Ted Kelly (Stanford), 6-4, 1-6, 1-0(5)
Third Round -- d. John Watts (Washington University), 6-2, 6-2
Fourth Round -- d. Andrew Stubbs (Wofford), 6-2, 6-3
Quarterfinals -- d. Dominic Ozanne (Ohio State), 6-1, 6-4
Semifinals -- d. Chris Cloer (Florida State), 7-5, 6-4
Championship Match -- l. Chris Racz (Tennessee), 7-6(6), 6-1
Finished as runner-up with a 5-1 record
David Streeter
First Round -- l. Benedikt Fischer (Memphis), 6-4, 6-0
Consolation First Round -- Bye
Consolation Second Round -- l. Santiago Gruter (Indiana), 6-4, 6-1
Finished with a 0-2 record
DOUBLES
Mike DePietro/David Streeter
First Round -- d. D.J. Johnson/Eric Ramos (Purdue), walkover (injury)
Second Round -- l. Benedikt Fischer/Amrit Narasimhan (Memphis), 8-5
Finished with a 1-1 record
George Navas/Mike Sroczynski
First Round -- Bye
Second Round -- l. Jordan DeLass/Hank Grant (Samford), 8-4
Finished with a 0-1 record
Matt Parks/Andrew Thomson (Middlebury College)
First Round -- Bye
Second Round -- l. Michael Dierberger/Michael Muskievicz (Wisconsin), 8-2
Finished with a 0-1 record
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
