Athens, Ga. Daniel Dossetor pushed the nation's 18th-ranked tennis player to three sets while James Eason pushed by Georgia's prized recruit in three sets as play began at the Southern Intercollegiate tennis tournament on the campus of the University of Georgia Friday.
Dossetor took the first set from Harel Srugo of Old Dominion, who holds the No. 4 seed in the singles competition, 6-1. Srugo battled back for a 6-1 victory of his own in the middle set. Srugo edged Dossetor in the third set, 6-3, in a match that lasted more than two hours in the hot Georgia summer weather. Dossetor falls to the consolation bracket and will face Murray State's Fadi Zamjaoui Saturday. Zamjaoui fell to Tennessee's Davey Sandgren with a 6-2 score in the first set before retiring when down 2-0 in the second set.
“Daniel played very aggressive today,” said assistant coach Todd Wojtkowski, who is coaching the duo this weekend. “He kept fighting and showed some moments of brilliance on the court.”
In another two-hour-plus grudge match, The Citadel's James Eason took on Georgia freshman Chris Motes, who was the 2006 USTA Junior National Runner-Up. Despite falling in the first set, 6-4, Eason battled back to win the second set 6-3 and then took advantage of the Georgia freshman who was suffering from leg cramps as Eason notched the 6-4 win in the third and final set. Eason advances to the second round to face Vladimir Paunic of SE Louisiana, who topped Duke's Alex Stone in straight sets Friday.
In the doubles competition, the Dossetor-Eason tandem received a bye in the first round and will face Georgia's Matic Omerzel and Travis Helgeson, who hold the No. 5 seed in the doubles brackets.
For complete coverage of Bulldog tennis, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.
