The Lee University men's tennis team had a strong showing at the ITA Fall Regional last week in Montgomery. Nico Ramirez Ribes won his first two matches 6-2, 6-4 and 6-1. 6-4 to advance to the round of 16. Ribesand Mike Groenendijk also made it to the round of 16 in double winning their first match 8-4. Francisco Faria also made it to the round of 16 winning 6-2, 7-5 and 7-6, 6-1. The final participant for the Flames was Quinn Groenendijk.
Ashleigh Simes was the first player for Lee to reach the Quarter-finals women’s singles.She won her first match 6-2, 6-2.
SHe then won in the round of 16, 6-4, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, she lost 7-6, 5-7 (10-3). Micaela Maiz also made it to the round of 16 with a win 7-5, 6-3. She and Mirjana Ragastovac made it to Quarter-finals women’s doubles with an 8-6 and an 8-5 win before falling in the quarterfinals 8-7. Matina Ujdur was the final participant for the Lady Flames.
It was the first time in Lee NCAA history that two players made it to the round of 16 for the men & women. It was also the first quarter-finalist in history with Simes making it.
Head Coach Patric Hynes was very proud of the effort. "Our region is the toughest in the country, this was a strong showing across the board for our teams. We had the opportunity to see some of our competition for the spring season, so we’ll take that information and keep moving forward."