George Washington University

Oct. 2, 2012

ITA Championship Information Page | Tulsa Tournament Central | @GWMensTennis

TULSA, Okla. - George Washington men's tennis sophomore Francisco Dias advanced to the final round of singles qualifying, and partnered with junior Alexander van Gils to move onto the final round of doubles qualifying on Tuesday at the ITA/D'Novo All-American Men's Tennis Championships hosted by the University of Tulsa at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.

The tournament, which features the largest field of any collegiate tennis championship with more than 300 competitors, is comprised of three rounds of competition - pre-qualifying, qualifying and main draw. The singles and doubles qualifying rounds wrap up on Wednesday, followed by the start of main draw play on Thursday.

Dias - who is ranked No. 89 in NCAA Division I by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) - defeated Adam Lee of Wake Forest (6-4, 7-6 (3)) to advance to the third and final round of singles qualifying play. The reigning Atlantic 10 Performer and Rookie Performer of the Year will face No. 58 Chris Simpson of LSU on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, and the winner will advance to main draw singles play - one of just 16 spots available.

Junior Nikita Fomin fell in Round 2 of singles qualifying in a tough three-set match to No. 100 Benjamin Lock of Florida State. The Moscow, Russia, native - who faced his third nationally ranked opponent in as many matches and fourth so far this fall - won the first set over Lock, 6-2, before falling 2-6, 4-6 in the final two sets.

After receiving a bye to Round 2 of doubles qualifying, Dias teamed up with van Gils to upset the 55th-ranked doubles team in the country in Spencer Newman and Alex Petrone of Michigan by a score of 8-6. The Colonials' pair will now face Arturs Kazijev and Mischa Nowicki of SMU on Wednesday.

Fomin and freshman Danil Zelenkov defeated Mississippi State's James Chaudry and Zach White, 8-6, in Round 1 early in the afternoon to advance, but fell to Syrym Abdukhalikov and Alejandro Augusto of Tennessee Tech, 8-4, in Round 2 on Tuesday evening.

Main-draw singles and doubles play is set to begin on Thursday, Oct. 4. Fans can follow the Colonials' run throughout the ITA/D'Novo All-American Championships via the ITA Championship Information Page, Tulsa's Tournament Central and the@GW_MensTennis Twitter handle.

 

Qualifying Singles
Round 2
No. 89 Francisco Dias (GW) def. Adam Lee (Wake Forest) - 6-4, 7-6 (3)
No. 100 Benjamin Lock (FSU) def. Nikita Fomin (GW) - 2-6, 6-2, 6-4

Qualifying Doubles
Round 1
Nikita Fomin/Danil Zelenkov (GW) def. James Chaudry/Zach White (Mississippi State) - 8-6

Round 2
Francisco Dias/Alexander van Gils (GW) def. No. 55 Spencer Newman/Alex Petrone (Michigan) - 8-6
Syrym Abdukhalikov/Alejandro Augusto (Tennessee Tech) def. Nikita Fomin/Danil Zelenkov (GW) - 8-4