Essick, Bednarczyk compete in Louisville

FROM IDS REPORTS

The IU men’s tennis team sent two freshmen to the Louisville Winter Invitational this weekend. Both Chris Essick and Daniel Bednarczyk competed in the singles competition and paired up to participate in the doubles portion of the tournament.

Essick kicked off his tournament with a win Friday against Jeff Brown of Louisville. Following this advancement, he went on to play Renato Antun from Belmont University. However, he did not defeat Antun and was moved into the fifth place bracket, where he played against Ji Hoon Heo from Morehead State University. Heo defeated Essick, forcing Essick to play in the seventh place bracket.

Bednarczyk beat Morehead State’s Nathan Martin in his first match Friday, followed by a loss against Jacob Wilson from Indiana State University.  Bednarczyk’s next match resulted in another loss to Indiana State competitor Erik Brunskog.

Bednarczky and Essick both competed in the seventh place bracket, forcing them to play against each other. Bednarczyk won, going 6-1 in both sets. He achieved a seventh place finish with a 2-2 overall record in the tournament, while Essick ended the tournament in eighth place with a record of 1-3.

Bednarczky and Essick also teamed up in the doubles competition, beating Louisville’s Brown and Van Damrongsri in their first match. However, they did end up losing to Antun and Fernando Mussolini from Belmont to move them into the fifth place bracket.

They then had to compete against the duo of Heo and Martin. Bednarczyk beat Martin for second time in the weekend as IU’s team advanced to the next round. David Clifford and Kevin Deligny of Morehead State were their next opponents. Bednarczky and Essick won, resulting in a fifth place finish for the two freshmen.

The next competition scheduled for the Hoosiers is the Four Conference Showdown beginning Jan. 1 in Boca Raton, Fla.

— Frank Bonner