Oct. 14, 2011
Battle in the Bay Home Page
SAN FRANCISCO - The California men's tennis doubles team of senior Tommie Murphy and freshman Chase Melton rolled into the doubles semifinal of the 2011 Battle in the Bay Classic at the California Tennis Club on Fri., Oct. 14, with an 8-2 win over the second-seeded and No. 48-ranked duo of Gavin Leon and Maxime Olivan of Saint Mary's College.
Melton and Murphy move ahead to face Stanford's team of Walker Kehrer and Robert Stineman in one doubles semifinal at 9 a.m. PT on Sat., Oct. 15. The doubles championship match is set for 11 a.m. on Sun., Oct. 16.
Cal's trio of singles players fought hard, but was denied spots in the quarterfinal. In one of the longest matches of the day, junior Riki McLachlan fell, in three sets, 5-7, 7-6, 5-7, to Stanford's Daniel Ho. McLachlan forced Ho into a third set with a 7-5 win in the second-set tiebreaker, but was edged in the third.
Freshman Andrew Scholnick went up against third-seeded and No. 67-ranked Clarke Spinosa of San Diego and was impressive as he split sets with the Torrero, by winning the second, 6-4, to avenge a 6-2 loss in the first. Spinosa stood fast in the final set to claim a 6-0 win and take the quarterfinal spot. Senior Ahmed Ismail had his three-match winning streak snapped in a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Pepperdine's Hugh Clark.
In the singles consolation round of 16, Melton went as long as he could go with Saad Benkirane of Saint Mary's College in another three-setter. Benkirane won the first set, 7-5, but Melton stormed back to win the second with an 8-6 victory in the tiebreaker. The final stanza went to a tiebreaker, as well, but Benkirane came up with the 8-6 win, this time, to secure his victory.
For more information, schedules, draws, and results from the Battle in the Bay Classic, please visit www.tennisinformation.com and search for tournament ID#5206609.
2011 Battle in the Bay Classic
California Tennis Club | San Francisco, Calif.
Friday, Oct. 14, 2011
Singles Round of 16
Hugh Clark (PEPP) def. Ahmed Ismail (CAL), 6-1, 6-2
Daniel Ho (STAN) def. Riki McLachlan (CAL), 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-5
[3] No. 67 Clarke Spinosa (USD) def. Andrew Scholnick (CAL), 6-2, 4-6, 6-0
Singles Consolation Round of 16
Saad Benkirane (SMC) def. Chase Melton (CAL), 7-5, 6-7(6), 7-6(6)
Doubles Quarterfinals
Melton/Murphy (CAL) def. No. 48 Leon/Olivan (SMC), 8-2
