Savkin wins his single division on his collegiate debut
By MEGAN JOSEPH — sports@theaggie.org
Starting the season off strong, the UC Davis men’s tennis team put on a very successful men’s tennis tournament that ended in victories for them. The Aggies have had many strong performances from the entire team, but especially from the new class.
The Aggie Invitational has seen strong performances by players in the past. This was the eighth consecutive year that UC Davis has put on the tournament to start off the fall season.
The first day of the tournament, Sept. 29, marked the start of first-year Ivan Savkin’s collegiate career. The San Diego native impressed everyone with his domination of the flight C singles matches throughout the weekend. He eventually knocked all of his opponents out of the tournament and won his first ever collegiate singles division title. Savkin showed his knowledge of the game and natural talent with the racket as he dominated the tournament.
Along with championing his singles division, Savkin was also a part of the winning doubles duo alongside fourth-year Ryan Torres. Torres, who has lots of experience as a part of the UC Davis team and in the doubles division, showed why he is such a well respected Davis athlete. Torres and Savkin learned how to play well with each other and beat out all the opposing doubles pairs to win the doubles competition. Together, both players made a strong pair and it showed in their game play through open communication and movement to the ball.
The rest of the Aggies kept up with the momentum and rhythm set by Savkin and Torres. The remaining singles divisions (flights A and B) saw fourth-year Brett Brinkman and second-year Constantinos Djakouris making it to the finals. Brinkman, a veteran of the game, kept opposing players on their toes with his serves and powerful strokes. Unfortunately, Brinkman was knocked out in the final singles match of his flight, but he still put on a good performance.
- Djakouris also put up a good fight in his flight but couldn’t pull out a win in his final match. C. Djakouris, a returning Aggie, showed off his astonishing talent and skill against his much more experienced opponents, he kept up with all of the older players and showed no sign of worry.
Fourth-year and new member Antreas Djakouris did not make it as far as some of his teammates, but deserves credit for making it to the semifinals in flight A of the singles matches. Still getting his footing as an Aggie, A. Djakouris is a recent transfer from UC Riverside who has already shown his potential. He has made it through many matches already with his ace serve even though he is just starting off.
Overall, the Aggies demonstrated their eagerness for the season and for a win. It is undeniable that the team has brought on some new and fresh talent that might just be what the Aggies need to push themselves to the finals and to champion the season. With the matches and tournaments coming up this season, we can expect some more impressive game play and domination of the court from players of all ages.
Written by: Megan Joseph — sports@theaggie.org
