Day one of the 2023 ITA Division I Men’s National Team Indoor Championship included two 4-3 thrillers and a 4-2 decision among first-round matches at the XS Tennis Village in Chicago.
In the first match of the day, Georgia redshirt senior Trent Bryde delivered the clincher with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 decision over South Carolina’s Raphael Lambling in a two-and-a-half-hour marathon to give the 11th-seeded Dawgs a 4-3 upset victory over the previously-undefeated Gamecocks (8-1).
Meanwhile, TCU handled their business in the other opening match of the day, beating Baylor 4-0 to keep their hopes alive for a repeat Championship this year.
In the third group of matches, defending NCAA National Champions, Virginia (8-2), recovered after dropping the doubles point to edge Tennessee, 4-3, thanks to a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 clinch from graduate Ryan Goetz at the No. 4 singles position.
The other match on court at that time saw fourth-seeded Michigan (11-0) rally after losing the doubles point to Stanford. The Wolverine sophomore, Will Cooksey, provided the clincher, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 over Filip Kolasinski at No. 6 singles in just over a two hour battle.
In the next matches on court, seventh-seeded USC (7-1) recovered after falling in the doubles point to North Carolina, winning across four singles positions to clinch the victory.
Second-seed Kentucky (11-0) was another team who faced off with a conference foe in the first round, earning a hard-fought 4-1 win over Florida to earn their spot in the Quarterfinals.
Top-seed Ohio State improved to 13-0 this season with a hard-fought 4-0 win over host Illinois. The Buckeyes will face No. 8 seed Texas (8-1) for the second time in two weeks after the Longhorns defeated Wake Forest, 4-0 in the other evening match
The action continues tomorrow from the XS Tennis Center with play begging at 9 am (CT) and continuing through 6:30 pm (CT) when the last matches get on court. Be sure to keep up with all of the action through the Cracked Racquets broadcast or through the ITA Social Media streams across Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Opening Round Results
- Courts 1-6: TCU (3) Def. Baylor (14) 4-0 | Box Score
- Courts 7-12: Georgia (11) Def. South Carolina (6) 4-3 | Box Score
- Courts 1-6: Kentucky (2) Def. Florida (15) 4-1 | Box Score
- Courts 7-12: USC (7) Def. North Carolina (10) 4-1 | Box Score
- Courts 1-6: Michigan (4) Def. Stanford (13) 4-2 | Box Score
- Courts 7-12: Virginia (5) Def. Tennessee (12) 4-3 | Box Score
- Courts 1-6: Ohio State (1) Def. Illinois (16) 4-0 | Box Score
- Courts 7-12: Texas (8) Def. Wake Forest (9) 4-0 | Box Score
