Kipouras and Sakinis to Play in Finals at ITA Regionals Tomorrow

Monday, October 20

Flushing, N.Y.

All Day

Dartmouth College

Day Five

Kipouras and Sakinis to Play in Finals at ITA Regionals Tomorrow

10/20/2014 6:27:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Dartmouth

FLUSHING, N.Y. – Two members of the Dartmouth men's tennis team remained in competition at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional Championships on Monday. Senior Chris Kipouras and junior Dovydas Sakinis paired up to defeat Columbia in doubles semifinals, while Sakinis played two singles matches, facing top-ranked competitors the entire way.

Against Max Schnur and Ashok Narayana, Sakinis and Kipouras had a 6-2, 5-7, 10-5 victory in the semifinals. The duo from Columbia were the No. 1 seed in the tournament and the No. 6 pairing in the country and are the reigning indoor champions from last year's National Championships.

“I am really happy for Dovydas and Chris,” head coach Chris Drake said. “They played an excellent match against a very good team from Columbia that, last fall, won the National Indoor Championships without losing a set on these very courts. Dovy and Kip really executed the things we have been working on and stuck with their games in the most critical moments. It will be another very tough match tomorrow, but the guys are excited for the opportunity”

In singles, Sakinis defeated No. 5-8 seed Sebastian Beltrame of Harvard by a score of 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. He then dropped a very close and hard-fought match with numerous sudden death deuce points to Winston Lin of Columbia in the semifinals, 7-5, 7-5. Lin is the No. 1 seed at the Championships and is ranked ninth in the country.

“Dovydas had a really good tournament,” Drake continued. “He definitely didn't always play his best tennis, but he has come so far with his toughness and ability to get through times when he doesn't feel perfect. He grinded out the quarterfinal against a really good player in Beltrame and came up just short against Winston in the semifinal. This is great for his development and will continue to make him a better player going forward.”

Kipouras and Sakinis will play in finals against Denis Nguyen and Brian Yeung of Harvard tomorrow at 9 a.m.

Semifinals: Sakinis and Kipouras (Dartmouth) def. Schnur and Narayana (Columbia), 5-7 (9-5)
Quarterfinals: Sakinis def. Beltrame (Harvard), 6-4, 6-2 quarters
Semifinals: Lin (Columbia) def. Sakinis, 7-5