Florida Gators

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Duarte Vale and Blaise Bicknell concluded a successful weekend at the Seahawk Fall Invite on Sunday, as Vale and Bicknell claimed the Flight A doubles title, while Vale would go on to earn the Flight A singles title to wrap up the Gators' first fall tournament. Greysen and Harrison Cacciatore finished the weekend on a positive note as well, taking the backdraw finals of Flight B doubles, while Brian Berdusco and Josh Goodger also finished the tournament in winning fashion.
 
Vale and Bicknell started the day facing off with Georgia Gwinnett's Bonacia and Caratini in a competitive matchup in the finals of Flight A doubles, as they pulled off a 7-5 victory to claim the duo's first title of the fall season. Despite falling in Saturday's semis, Berdusco and Goodger would make the most out of the tournament's final day, securing a 6-2 victory over UNC Asheville's Nolan and Thursfield to finish third in the Flight A doubles draw.
 
Greysen Cacciatore and Harrison Cacciatore enjoyed a tight matchup against Coastal Carolina's Hyrkkonen and Tanabe in the backdraw finals of Flight B doubles, as both duos exchanged game after game before the Cacciatores would pull off the tiebreak win, 7-6 (1), to solidify a resilient finish in the Flight B doubles draw.
 
Vale and Bicknell then met up in the Flight A singles finals, as Vale dropped the Gator rookie in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, to snag another title on the day and finish undefeated on the weekend.
 
Brian Berdusco would finish the day with a competitive consolation matchup with VCU's Timo Zgarggem in the Flight A backdraw, earning a hard-fought win in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
 
In Flight B singles, Greysen fell in three sets in the backdraw semis to North Florida's Nilo Duarte, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (5), though, Harrison would win his backdraw consolation matchup by default to wrap up the tournament for the Gators.

THOUGHTS FROM ASSOICATE HEAD COACH TANNER STUMP:

• "As I said yesterday, today would determine whether this weekend was a success for us or not. The guys definitely came through with grit and toughness – which is what I asked of them. We had plenty of situations where we could have easily gone away and accepted defeat but they didn't give in."
• "I have to give a lot of credit to Duarte Vale for his performance this weekend, sweeping both top flights here. It's not just his tennis that I'm impressed with, but his leadership as well. He was willing to serve his teammates as well as lead by example, which is the Gator way."
• "All in all, this was exactly what we needed and the guys gave me a lot to be proud of this weekend. We certainly have things to improve on but now we know what those areas are and we can go work on them. Last but not least, I want to thank UNCW for putting on a great tournament with some of the best hospitality we experienced."

 
UP NEXT:

• The Gators return to the court next on Friday, Sept. 27 to compete in the UGA Ranked +1 in Athens, Ga., while others compete in the M25 Houston throughout this week (Sept. 15-22).