Stein Falls in Championship Match of USTA/ITA Regional Championship
Kalamazoo, Mich., September 28, 2010 – Senior Isaac Stein advanced to the championship match of the singles bracket to highlight the Washington University in St. Louis men’s tennis team at the USTA/ITA Central Region Championship held on Friday-Monday, Sept. 24-27, at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Stein, the No. 2 seed in the 128-competitor singles bracket, dropped a 6-3, 6-3 decision to top-seeded Sam Sweeney of North Central College on Monday in the championship match. He cruised into the round of 16 dropping just four games in three matches, before posting a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the No. 15 seed, sophomore teammate Gary Parizher.
Stein defeated No. 20 seed Noah Swiler of DePauw University, 7-5, 6-4, in the quarterfinals, before ousting Jeremy Polster of Kenyon College, 6-1, 6-1, in the semifinals. His run came to an end against Sweeney in the finals, as he attempted to be the fifth-straight regional champion from Washington University (John Watts, 2006-09).
Senior Max Woods also had a nice showing in singles as he advanced to the semifinals. Woods, the No. 12 seed, cruised through his first match with a 6-1, 6-1 victory before two matches against Washington University teammates.
He defeated the No. 28 seed, sophomore Kareem Farah in the round of 32, 6-0, 6-2, and then ousted freshman Naveen Chadalavada in the round of 16, 6-1, 6-1. Woods cruised past No. 14 seed Paul Burgin of Kenyon, 6-2, 6-0, in the quarterfinals, before suffering a 6-4, 7-6 (4) defeat to Sweeney in the semifinals.
Overall, Washington University had five players reach the round of 16: Chadalavada, Parizher, sophomore Adam Putterman, Stein and Woods.
Doubles play was not as strong for the Bears, as the top-seeded team of Stein and Woods were upset in the round of 32 by Ben Kopecky and Sam Miles of DePauw, 8-1. The No. 11 seeded team of juniors Cameron Chiang and Dushyanth Srinivasan advanced to the round of 16 before dropping an 8-3 decision to No. 6 seed John Healey and Nicolas Howe from University Athletic Association (UAA) member Case Western Reserve University.
Freshman Tim Noack claimed the Kalamazoo Collegiate singles championship with six straight-set victories. En route to the title, Noack defeated Srinivasan, 6-1, 6-3, in the quarterfinals, and Steve Pjevach of DePauw, 6-3, 6-0 in the championship match.