It was a match of SIU’s past against its present at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Championships.
Freshman no. 1 Brandon Florez competed against a player who could have been SIU’s No. 1 this year, Oklahoma State University’s sophomore Eric West, at the tournament in Tulsa, Okla. The tournament started Thursday and ended Monday.
West was on the No. 2 on the Salukis last year and was part of the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference championship team. He was also named the MVC Freshman of the Year.
Head coach Dann Nelson said it was strange to see the two players face each other.
“It’s hard to see a kid we had last year play a kid that came in for us this year,” Nelson said. “It’s one of those things, luck of the draw I guess.”
Florez lost the match in straight sets 6-3, 7-5. Florez said his nerves got to him at the beginning of the match.
“Against West I was kind of nervous; everybody was saying how good he was,” Florez said. “I then said ‘man, come on, you’re better than this’ and put everything I had into it. There were a couple of points here or there, and I would have had the match. I was this close to pulling it off.”
Florez said if the two were to play again he could win because he would not have the nervous energy before playing.
“I know what I have to do,” Florez said. “Whenever I play against top players in top situations I can freeze up. I have to fix that.”
This was not Florez’s first encounter with West.
Florez said when he visited SIU in the spring, he stayed with West and became friends with the sophomore.
“We were friends; we talked over the summer,” Florez said. “It’s always hard to play your friends.”
Florez won a match over the weekend with an upset victory in doubles play with freshman partner Chikara Kidera. Florez and Kidera beat the sixth seeded duo of Wichita State’s Vlad Marinescu and Adrian Chermaci, 9-7.
Nelson said the duo trailed 0-5 at one point, but bounced back to take the match.
“They just kind of woke up,” Nelson said. “When it gets down 5-0, those matches are usually over with, but those guys never gave up. They came back and won. It was great seeing two green freshmen go out there and get that win.”
Marinescu and Chermaci were the No. 1 team for Wichita State.
After the upset victory, West got the best of Florez again.
West and his double’s partner Anton Bobytskyi defeated the SIU duo in the second round of doubles play 8-3.
The rest of the tennis team failed to win any matches. Tulsa’s Rusty Turpin beat Kidera in singles play 6-3, 6-1 and Bradley’s Callen Fraychineaud defeated freshman Orhan Spahic 6-1, 6-3.
Spahic also fell short in doubles play as he and his partner, freshman Jordan Snyder, lost to Minnesota’s Tobias Wernet and Michael Sicora, 8-6.
“I think we played well at times, but we didn’t do that well overall,” Snyder said. “None of us played at our best.”
In the qualification bracket, Snyder lose to Saint Louis University’s P.J. Hendrie 6-0, 6-2. Freshman Pavlo Bury lost to another Saint Louis opponent, Drew Feder 6-3, 6-7(3), 10-1.
The Salukis will wrap up the fall season at the Murray State Invitational on Nov. 6.
Snyder said while the results were not there, the tournament was a positive experience.
“I think it showed us where we’re at right now and where we need to be,” Snyder said.
