Pejic, Henning win twice at ITA Regional
(photo courtesy of NSUSpartans.com)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Sophomore Antonio Pejic and freshman Benedikt Henning of the Norfolk State men’s tennis team each won once in singles and then together in doubles during the ITA Atlantic Regional Championship this weekend at Virginia Tech.

The two Spartans earned their win in doubles with an 8-1 victory over the Duquesne duo of Adam Blasinsky and Chris Corrao at Virginia Tech’s Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on Friday. Later in the day in the round of 64, the NSU tandem fell to William & Mary’s seeded duo of Christian Cargill and Scott Huang by an 8-4 score.

“There is no doubt our doubles has improved over the last month,” said head coach Worth Richardson. “However, facing off against strong teams from William & Mary and ODU was a great reminder to the men of how far they still have to go.”

Over in singles, Pejic earned his second victory of the tournament on Friday, downing former national top 40 recruit Zach Lieb of Penn State by a 6-3, 6-4 margin. On Saturday, Pejic was upended by the No. 1 seed at the Regional, Andreas Bjerrehus of Virginia Tech, by a 6-1, 6-1 score in the round of 64.

Also on Friday, Henning defeated Duquesne’s top returning player, Corey Robinson, 6-3 and 6-4, in the opening round. In the round of 64 on Saturday, Penn State’s Marc Collado, seeded in the 17-32 range, beat Henning by scores of 6-2 and 6-1.

“I was very pleased with Henning and Pejic’s first round matches, as they both won convincingly over strong opponents,” stated Richardson. “However, we were unable to step up to the challenge presented in the next round as we faced difficult conditions as well as seeded opponents.

“Nevertheless, this weekend was a tremendous learning experience, and I think this young team now has a better perspective on where they are going.”

Also in doubles, sophomore Fatehdeep Singh and freshman Nico Lluch competed on Friday, dropping an 8-1 decision to Old Dominion’s Jacob Nicolussi and Michael Weindl in the round of 64.

The Spartans will next take part in the USA F31 Futures event in Birmingham, Ala., beginning on Oct. 30.

Originally posted on NSUSpartans.com | Used with permission