Six Hurricanes Set to Compete in South Carolina
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s tennis team will return to the courts Friday morning, opening up play at the Gamecock Fall Invitational. Hosted by the University of South Carolina, matches will begin on Friday morning at a trio of locations and conclude on Sunday afternoon with championship matches played at the Carolina Tennis Center.
Six Canes will compete this weekend, including junior Stephen Madonia, sophomores Pablo Aycart and William Grattan-Smith and freshmen Franco Aubone, Francisco Bastias and Kaya Gore.
Ranked 10th in the Oracle/ITA preseason newcomers’ rankings, Bastias is seeded fourth in the Gamecock Flight A singles draw and will make his collegiate debut against SMU’s Tomas Vaise.
Also competing in the Flight A draw, Aubone will battle USC’s Raphael Lambling, Madonia will match up against UNC’s Josh Peck and Gore will take on the Gamecock’s Daniel Rodrigues.
Grattan-Smith will square off against Yusuf Khamis of ETSU in the Flight B singles draw.
In doubles action, Madonia and Bastias will team up as the second seed in the Flight A draw and battle UNC’s Peck and Ladd Harrison. Opening as the sixth-seed in the bracket, Aubone and Gore will match up with David Gonzalez and Sergi Fontcuberta of ETSU.
In the Flight B doubles draw, Aycart and Grattan-Smith will battle the Buccaneers’ Frazier Rengifo and Khamis.
The three-day event will take place across three locations in the Columbia area; the Carolina Tennis Center (1318 Heyward St.), Columbia Tennis Center (1635 Whaley St.), and the Cayce Tennis Center (1120 Fort Congaree Trail, 29033).
The tournament field will be divided into three singles draws (consisting of 32 individuals each) and three doubles draws (consisting of 16 doubles teams). First round matches will begin on Friday morning at 8 a.m., beginning with doubles matches (A, B and C flights). First round singles matches will follow the initial round of doubles on each match court.
The Gamecock Fall Invitational tournament field will consist of 97 total players from 19 schools across the country including two players (Adam Walton of Tennessee and David Gonzalez of East Tennessee State) who were ranked in the Oracle/ITA preseason singles rankings while another pair — Brian Cernoch of North Carolina and Bastias of Miami — appeared in this season’s preseason freshman/newcomers top 10.
Entry is free and open to the public with free parking also available at all three tournament locations.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesMensTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
FRIDAY SCHEDULE
Flight A Doubles
8 a.m. – [second-seed] Stephen Madonia/Francisco Bastias vs. [15th-seed] Harrison/Peck (UNC)
8 a.m. – [sixth-seed] Franco Aubone/Kaya Gore vs. [11th-seed] Gonzalez/Fontcuberta (ETSU)
Flight B Doubles
8 a.m. – [14th-seed] Pablo Aycart/William Grattan-Smith vs. [third-seed] Rengifo/Khamis (ETSU)
Flight A Singles
[25th-seed] Kaya Gore (Miami) vs. [eighth-seed] Daniel Rodrigues (USC)
[fourth-seed] Francisco Bastias (Miami) vs. [29th-seed] Tomas Vaise (SMU)
[18th-seed] Stephen Madonia (Miami) vs. [15th-seed] Josh Peck (UNC)
[11th-seed] Franco Aubone (Miami) vs. [22nd-seed] Raphael Lambling (USC)
Flight B Singles
[25th-seed] William Grattan-Smith (Miami) vs. [eighth-seed] Yusuf Khamis (ETSU)
