OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's tennis team opened the fall portion of its schedule at the Drake Fall Invitational over the weekend.
Junior Colin Buckley placed third in the "A" Flight singles draw. Buckley opened the invitational with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Andres Saenz of Gustavus Adolphus. Alex Koca of Creighton knocked off Buckley in the semifinals, 6-2, 6-4. In the third place match, Buckley defeated Creighton's Quinn Dippel in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
"I am very proud of Colin (Buckley) for the way he competed throughout the tournament," said head coach Tyson Thomas. "The mental side of his game has improved significantly and it's starting to show in his results."
In the "A" Flight consolation bracket, freshman Alex Woodward defeated Saenz, 6-1, 6-2.
Freshman Matt Dunn earned a 6-2, 6-7 (3), 10-0 win over Mitchell Elofson of Gustavus Adolphus in the "B" Flight singles consolation bracket. In the "C" Flight singles consolation bracket senior Erik Anderson and sophomore Ignace Warson each picked up wins. Anderson topped Connor Oberle of North Dakota 6-3, 6-1. Warson defeated Oberle, 6-0, 6-1.
Freshmen Brent McKnight and Sean Padios each earned consolation victories in "D" Flight singles. Padios topped Eshan Varma of North Dakota, 6-2, 6-4. McKnight defeated Varma, 6-3, 6-4. Junior Lukas Vanzura finished with a 1-2 mark in "E" Flight singles.
"Being the first college tournament for quite a few of the guys, we showed some nerves starting off in singles," added Thomas. "As the day progressed a few guys settled in and I saw some good things that we'll be able to work with."
Buckley and sophomore Marko Minic finished the tournament with a 2-2 mark in "A" Flight doubles. The duo defeated Dustin Britton and Dave Bergstrom from North Dakota, 6-4, and Creighton's Koca and Dippel, 6-2.
Anderson and Woodward finished 3-1 in "B" Flight doubles, including a 6-3 victory over Oberle and Ty Misialek from North Dakota. In "C" Flight doubles, Dunn and McKnight earned a 2-1 mark. The duo defeated teams from Creighton and North Dakota. Warson and Vanzura teamed up and finished 2-1 in Flight "D" doubles action with wins over Gustavus Adolphus and North Dakota.
Thomas was proud of the Mavericks performance in doubles action. "I saw some good things in doubles over the weekend. We competed well and had some success which is exciting to build on," said Thomas.
Omaha returns to the court this weekend (Oct. 2-4) at the Creighton Invite at the Koch Family Tennis Center.
