The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
ITA Texas Regional Championship
Telles advances to singles final at ITA Texas Regional Championships
10.22.2017 | Men's Tennis
Junior Leonardo Telles defeats teammate Harrison Scott and Baylor’s Jimmy Bendeck to reach Monday’s final.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Longhorns junior Leonardo Telles notched a pair of impressive straight-sets wins and advanced to the singles final Sunday at the ITA Texas Regional Championships.
Telles opened Sunday's singles session in the quarterfinals against his Texas classmate, the top-seeded Harrison Scott. The 86th-ranked Telles knocked off the 22nd-ranked Scott, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a semifinal meeting against Baylor's 68th-ranked Jimmy Bendeck.
Telles made short work of Bendeck and won 6-1, 6-0 to earn a spot in Monday's singles final. Telles earns a singles bid to next month's ITA National Fall Championships in Indian Wells by reaching the singles final in College Station. Telles will meet either Texas A&M's Jordi Arconada or Baylor's Johannes Schretter in Monday's final at 10 a.m. Fans can follow live video here and live scoring here.
"Leonardo just played unbelievable tennis today," said UT head coach Michael Center. "He played a great match against Harrison, and he beat a really good player in (Baylor's) Jimmy Bendeck in the semifinals. Leonardo just didn't miss a ball. Just a tremendous effort on his part, and he's excited about playing tomorrow. Much credit to our John Mee in getting to the quarterfinals, as well."
Telles had a chance to reach the doubles final, as well, but he and his classmate Rodrigo Banzer fell by the slimmest of margins in the semifinals. A&M's Arconada and Kevin Lam edged the Texas tandem by two points in a third-set match tiebreak, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (16-14). UT juniors Colin Markes and Adrian Ortiz suffered a similar fate in their doubles semifinal. Markes and Ortiz dropped a 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (12-10) decision to Texas Tech's Jackson Cobb and Alex Sendegeya.
"The guys played some very good doubles today," Center added. "We had match points in both matches, but we came up short. Our doubles play is much improved, though, and I'm happy to see that."
ITA Texas Regional Championships
Singles Quarterfinals
No. 86 Leonardo Telles (Texas) def. No. 22 Harrison Scott (Texas), 6-2, 6-2
No. 36 Jordi Arconada (Texas A&M) def. John Mee (Texas), 7-5, 6-3
Singles Semifinals
No. 86 Leonardo Telles (Texas) def. No. 68 Jimmy Bendeck (Baylor), 6-1, 6-0
Doubles Semifinals
Jordi Arconada/Kevin Lam (Texas A&M) def. Rodrigo Banzer/Leonardo Telles (Texas), 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (16-14)
Jackson Cobb/Alex Sendegeya (Texas Tech) def. Colin Markes/Adrian Ortiz (Texas), 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (12-10)
Players Mentioned
