Tulsa
NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships
Tulsa's Arevalo and Watling Advance at NCAA Singles Championship
5/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 26, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. - Tulsa freshman Marcelo Arevalo and sophomore Ashley Watling both won first round matches on Wednesday afternoon at the NCAA Singles Championship to advance to the second round tomorrow at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Watling, the 60th-ranked player in the country, cruised past 96th-ranked Jonathan Wong of Columbia in just a little over one hour for a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
He jumped out to a quick 4-2 lead in the first set and proceeded on to take the frame by a 6-3 score in just 30 minutes. Wong won the opening game of the second set before Watling rolled off five straight games to take a decisive 5-1 lead and eventually the set, 6-2.
With the win, Watling improves to 21-10 on the season with eight wins coming against nationally-ranked opponents.
The sophomore from Ipswich, England will face 14th-ranked Sanam Singh of Virginia in the second round tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. (CST). Singh defeated Rice's 27th-ranked Bruno Rosa, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round.
Arevalo, the 42nd-ranked player in the nation, registered a tough 7-6 (8), 6-2 win over 91st-ranked Kiryl Harbatsiuk of Sacramento State to move onto the second round.
Arevalo and Harbatsiuk battled for over an hour in an entertaining first set which saw Arevalo grab an early 3-1 advantage only to see Harbatsiuk win four straight games to take a commanding 5-3 lead. The freshman from Sonsonate, El Salvador responded to force a tiebreaker at 6-6 where the two battled back and forth before Arevalo eventually captured the 10-8 victory to take the first set 7-6.
It was a much easier time for Arevalo in the second set as he took another early 3-1 lead, which he held onto this time for a quick 6-2 decision.
Arevalo improves his record to 9-6 on the year and will face 45th-ranked Rhyne Williams of Tennessee in the second round tomorrow at Noon (CST). Williams pulled off one of the first round's biggest upsets with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 3-ranked Steve Johnson of USC.
The first round of the doubles championship gets underway on Thursday as well, with Philip Stephens and Watling, the 24th-ranked doubles team in the country, squaring off against Kentucky's 22nd-ranked Brad Cox and Eric Quigley at 2:30 p.m. (CST).
The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships continue through May 31st at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at The University of Georgia.
NCAA Singles Championships (Athens, Ga.)1st Round #60 Ashley Watling (TLS) def. #96 Jonathan Wong (COL), 6-3, 6-2 #42 Marcelo Arevalo (TLS) def. #91 Kiryl Harbatsiuk (SAC), 7-6 (8), 6-2
