Doubles Tandem Advances to the Title Match
ATHENS, Ga. – For the third time in just a week span, a University of Miami doubles tandem is heading to the championship round of their respective tournament draw.
Competing against Georgia’s Phillip Henning and Blake Coyder in the semifinals of the Red Doubles Draw, junior Benjamin Hannestad and sophomore Franco Aubone secured a tiebreaker victory, 7-6 (7-3), Saturday at the 52nd annual Southern Intercollegiate Championships.
The UM duo will look to claim the crown Sunday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex when they take on Texas’ Christian Sigsgaard and Siem Woldeab at 8:30 a.m.
“A lot of positives this early in the fall season,” Miami head coach Aljosa Piric said. “We are seeing a lot of positives from all of our guys. We are improving. We are using every one of the tournaments as an opportunity to get better and improve individually and as a team. We will continue to work hard and continue to challenge our guys to grow and get better.
“Always great to have a doubles team come together and mesh so well from the beginning,” Piric continued. “Benji and Franco understand each other on the court and are working really well together. They beat several good teams already this weekend and will play another good team from Texas tomorrow in the final. We will have some tough decisions to make in the spring regarding our doubles line ups.”
Facing Georgia’s Samuel Dromsky and UCF’s Mikhail Sokolovskiy in the Black Doubles Draw semifinals, senior Stephen Madonia and junior William Grattan-Smith fell, 2-6.
In singles action, Hannestad rebounded from Friday’s opening round defeat, to advance to Sunday’s consolation finals match.
In the consolation quarterfinals, the junior took a commanding, 5-2, opening-set lead, before Georgia Tech’s Zummy Bauer retired from the contest. In the semifinals, Hannestad cruised past Georgia’s Dromsky, 6-1, 6-1.
Following in the footsteps of his doubles partner, Aubone also bounced back from an opening round defeat with a, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), triumph over Illinois’ Gui Gomes.
Then in the semifinals of the Silver Singles Consolation Draw, the San Juan, Argentina, native topped Georgia Tech’s Brandon Freestone, 6-1, 6-3.
On Sunday, Aubone will face Georgia’s Erik Grevelius in the consolation final.
Competing in the quarterfinals, Grattan-Smith came up short against the bracket’s top-seed, Jacob Bullard of Texas, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6.
In the final singles match of the day, Madonia lost a three-set battle with Harvard’s Lane Leschly, 6-2, 3-6, 3-6.
