Bluefield, WV- Bluefield State is headed back to the National Championship! The Big Blues took on Chowan today in the Atlantic Regional #1 final winning 5-0. Chowan beat West Virginia Wesleyan yesterday in the first round match to advance to the finals today. This was their first ever regional postseason victory for the team. They finished their season with an impressive 21-7 record swept the regular season and tournament titles in the CIAA.
The Big Blues came out ready to move on to the finals. Seniors Jacob Carey and Aziz Yuldashev were on a mission to not see their final season end in Bluefield today. Carey and Yuldashev played extremely well winning their doubles match by a score of 8-2. Alexandr Rudenco and Platon Gud also performed excellent as a doubles team, winning 8-3. But the match of the tournament was with Anthony Braem and Ignacio Pulido. After being down 5-7 Braem and Pulido stormed back, winning 3 straight games, breaking Chowan's serve twice in the process to win the match 9-7. This was a crucial win, and gave the Big Blues a 3-0 advantage heading into singles play.
The singles matches were very close across the board. Carey, Braem, Rudenco and Yuldashev all were in back and forth matches that looked like they would go to 3 sets. But Gud and Pulido prevented that from happening and got the 2 final match points to seal the 5-0 victory for the Big Blues. Gud won his singles match with ease, going up 3-0 in the first and second sets winning both of those 6-2, 6-2. Pulido sealed the deal for the Big Blues, hitting a screamer down the line to win his second set, and the match 6-4, 6-4.
Coach Belt and the rest of the team will now be one of the 16 teams traveling to Denver, CO next week for the National Championship as the Atlantic Region Co-Champions. The quarterfinals will start on Thursday, May 18th with the semi-finals and finals the following 2 days. This is a great accomplishment for the team and will truly be a great experience for all the players. Bluefield State will find out who they play later this week. Check back on our website for details on the tournament in the next few days.
Tennis Match Results
Chowan vs Bluefiled State College
May 09, 2016 at Bluefield, WV
(Bluefield City Courts)
#44 Bluefiled State College 5, Chowan 0
Singles competition
1. Jacob Carey (BSCMT) vs. Farid Hajizada (CUMT) 3-6, 4-1, unfinished
2. Anthony Braem (BSCMT) vs. Mateusz Izycki (CUMT) 6-3, 2-4, unfinished
3. Alexandr Rudenco (BSCMT) vs. Rafael Goncalves (CUMT) 4-6, 3-4, unfinished
4. Aziz Yuldashev (BSCMT) vs. Adi Kaliakperov (CUMT) 2-6, 6-5, unfinished
5. Platon Gud (BSCMT) def. Mariano Yeh (CUMT) 6-2, 6-2
6. Ignacio Pulido (BSCMT) def. Louis Proulx (CUMT) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Jacob Carey/Aziz Yuldashev (BSCMT) def. Farid Hajizada/Adi Kaliakperov (CUMT) 8-2
2. Anthony Braem/Ignacio Pulido (BSCMT) def. Mateusz Izycki/Mariano Yeh (CUMT) 9-7
3. Alexandr Rudenco/Platon Gud (BSCMT) def. Rafael Goncalves/Louis Proulx (CUMT) 8-3
Match Notes:
Chowan 21-7; Regional ranking #5
Bluefiled State College 18-2; National ranking #44; Regional ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,6)
T-2:50 A-75
