Men’s tennis starts season

The Toledo men’s tennis team opened up their fall season this weekend at the Purdue Invitational in West Lafayette, Indiana. Sophomores Vince Anzalone and Reid Teatsworth won four straight sets to claim the Flight B championship for doubles. Meanwhile, on the singles side of the invite, Teatsworth and junior Omar Espinosa both fell short of their flights championship, faltering in the final match.
The Rockets were joined by Ball State, Butler, Cardinal Stritch, Case Western, DePaul, Indiana, IUPUI, Olivet Nazarene, Marquette, Purdue, Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana and Wright State at the invite. The tournament held six flights of singles competition and three flights of doubles competition.
Anzalone and Teatsworth competed in the Flight B doubles tournament and started off strong with consecutive 6-2 victories over Cardinal Stritch and Purdue. The duo kept the winning streak going heading into the next match, recording a 6-3 victory over Southern Illinois.
The Rocket pair then headed to the Flight B championship against DePaul freshman duo Christopher Casati and Fran Tonejc. The winning streak never quit, and the Rockets took home the victory 6-4, securing the flight B championship for the men.
Teatsworth also competed in the Flight D singles event for the Rockets. Teatsworth began the tournament by defeating Conor O’Meara of DePaul in three straight sets.
Teatsworth recorded victories in his next two matches of the invite before heading into the Flight D singles championship. The UT sophomore faced off against Ball State’s Conner Anderson. Teatsworth managed to snag the first set, but Andersen bounced back to secure the next two, clinching the win for Ball State.
The story was very similar for third-year student Omar Espinosa. Espinosa represented the Rockets in the Flight C matches during the invite. Espinosa began his run strong, winning his first two matches from behind, despite dropping the first set in each match. He then moved on to face Butler Bulldog Ari Gerstein, whom he defeated in two sets. Unfortunately, Espinosa ended his tournament run the match after, falling just short in the championship. Espinosa was defeated in the final match by Ball State’s Jan Jirus in straight sets.
The Rockets will return home this weekend when they host the Rocket Invitational Sept. 30-Oct. 1.