University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
UConn Invitational
Huskies Got Fall Season Started at Home this Weekend
9/15/2019 7:07:00 PM | Men's Tennis
STORRS, Conn. – The UConn men's tennis team got a chance to open their fall tournament schedule at home over the weekend on their own courts in the 2019 UConn Invitational. The Huskies hosted Marist, Merrimack and Sacred Heart for a weekend of blind dual match competition.
"I thought every player competed very well this weekend," stated associate head coach Christian Appleman. "I wanted to see how we would react as individuals and as a team to some pressure and some adversity - for three of our new guys, this was the first time they experienced a competitive college tennis setting."
"We were definitely prepared physically, which is a credit to our strength and conditioning and training staffs," commented Appleman. "We will continue to work on developing our mental toughness but that's a long process and we will get there."
UConn junior John Michael Holtmann (Coral Gables, Fla.) along with freshman Rami Scheetz (Cedar Rapids, Ia.) both went 2-1 in single matches over the weekend while rookie Luke Riemann (Cheshire, Conn.) won twice in doubles play to lead the Huskies.
The Huskies opened the weekend winning five of the six contested singles matches against SHU. Holtmann got his first win of the weekend by beating Matic Podlipnik, 6-3 and 7-6 (4). Scheetz also won his first match of the weekend and his collegiate career by beating SHU's Peter Roessel, 6-4 and 6-2.
Riemann also won his first every collegiate match by beating SHU's Tyler Lowe in three sets, 7-5, 0-6 and 10-5. Junior Yili Zheng (Shanghai, China) grabbed a win over SHU's Seiji Hosokawa in a three set battle, 6-4, 2-6 and 10-8. UConn senior Evan Powell (Guilford, Conn.) was another winner against Sacred Heart, taking down Ayman Khan, 6-3 and 6-4.
Holtmann and Scheetz were both singles winners against Merrimack on Sunday. Holtmann won a three set battle with Jonathan Garcia, 7-6, 6-7 and 10-1 while Scheetz was a 7-6, 7-5 winner over P. De Godoy Mancini. Zheng and Riemann both came up short in three sets in losses on Sunday.
In doubles, Riemann teamed up with Scheetz to earn a win over Sacred Heart's Kevin Chao and Peter Roessel, 8-2. On Sunday, Riemann and classmate Alex Yu (Nanjing, China) paired up to win 8-2 over Merrimack's Paul Weidinger and Andre Singer.
"Overall, I was extremely pleased and I am very excited for the tournament at Quinnipiac next weekend."
The Huskies stay in state next weekend and head down to the Quinnipiac Invitational on September 20-22.
Players Mentioned
