Oct. 21, 2012

Doubles Main Draw | @GWMensTennis

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The George Washington men’s tennis pair of junior Nikita Fomin and freshman Danil Zelenkov won back-to-back matches on Sunday to advance to the doubles semifinals of the ITA Atlantic Regional, hosted by the University of Virginia at the Cavaliers’ Snyder Tennis Center and the Boars Head Sports Club.

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Region includes schools located in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. The tournament is a single-elimination format and winners of the singles and doubles flights will earn automatic bids to the ITA National Indoor Championship in November.

Fomin and Zelenkov first took down James Madison’s Ryan Pool and Robert Stirling, 8-3, in the round of 16. The duo then upset the tournament’s No. 3 seed and No. 28 team in the nation in Russell Bader and Roman Trkulja of Penn State, 8-3, in the quarterfinal match. The tournament’s No. 5 tandem of junior Ulrik Thomsen and senior Alexander van Gils dropped an 8-6 decision to Virginia Tech’s Andreas Bjerrehus and Amerigo Contini.

In singles, Fomin – the bracket’s 10^th seed – fell to Atlantic 10 foe VCU’s fourth-seeded and nationally ranked No. 52 Alexis Huegas in the round of 16. Huegas avenged an upset by Fomin from earlier this season with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat.

Fomin and Zelenkov will vie for a spot in the doubles championship match against the No. 47 team of Justin Shane and Julen Uriguen of Virginia, the second-seeded team in the tournament, at 12 p.m. on Monday. Follow @GWMensTennis on Twitter for periodic updates throughout the USTA/ITA Atlantic Regional.

USTA/ITA Atlantic ReionalMain Draw Singles
No. 52 Alexis Huegas (VCU) def. Nikita Fomin (GW) – 6-3, 6-3

Main Draw Doubles
Nikita Fomin/Danil Zelenkov (GW) def. Ryan Pool/Robert Stirling (JMU) – 8-3
Nikita Fomin/Danil Zelenkov (GW) def. No. 28 Russell Bader/Roman Trkulja (PSU) – 8-3

Andreas Bjerrehus/Amerigo Contini (VT) def. Ulrik Thomsen/Alexander van Gils (GW) – 8-6