July 29, 2011
GODFREY, Ill. - Former Illini Marek Czerwinski and senior-to-be Roy Kalmanovich each fell in second-round action of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Men's Futures Tournament on Thursday at Lewis and Clark Community College. The pair punched their tickets to the singles main draw after posting outstanding play in the qualifying rounds earlier this week.
"I was very pleased with how the guys played," Illini head coach Brad Dancer said. "They all played some really tough matches in a tremendous heat. I'm happy for Roy (Kalmanovich) and Marek (Czerwinski) to both get back on the radar and keep moving forward to their professional goals as well."
In the opening round of the main draw, Czerwinski defeated Jeremiah Fuller in a 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-6 (4) thriller but faltered in the following round against sixth-seeded Erik Crepaldi, 7-5, 6-3. The Birmingham, Mich., native dropped only one set in four matches and posted an impressive five-set winning streak in the qualifying rounds to advance to the main draw.
Meanwhile, Kalmanovich put together a strong run of his own, cruising past Chase Buchanan, 6-4, 6-2, in his first-round match of the main draw. But the Framingham, Mass., native struggled in the second round, falling to seventh-seeded John Peers, 6-1, 7-6 (5). Kalmanovich qualified with a hard-fought win over former teammate and recent Illinois graduate Abe Souza, 0-6, 6-3, 3-1. Souza retired in the final set of the match due to injury but later advanced to the main draw as a lucky loser. The former Illini did not continue in the competition, however, withdrawing from the tournament.
Sixteenth-seeded soon-to-be senior Dennis Nevolo also posted an impressive run in the qualifying rounds, defeating teammate Stephen Hoh, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4, and fifth-seeded Evan King, 6-1, 6-4. But the 2011 All-American exited the main draw early, when he retired in a first-round, 7-6 (11), 2-1 loss to Raymond Sarmiento.
Marek, Nevolo, Kalmanovich and Hoh will return to action next week in the Ursula Beck Pro Tennis Classic in Decatur, Ill. Marek and Nevolo each received wild-card bids to the main draw, while Kalmanovich and Hoh will play in the qualifying rounds.
For results from Godfrey, go HERE.
