BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Freshman Benedikt Henning won once as he and sophomore Antonio Pejic of the Norfolk State men’s tennis team competed at the USA F31 Futures event at the Highland Park Tennis Club over the weekend.
The tournament, hosted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), pits some of the top players against each other at the Futures level, the equivalent to the minor leagues in baseball. Henning earned a victory in the first round on Friday in the qualifying draw before dropping his next contest on Saturday.
“Antonio and Benedikt both have experience playing at the Futures level. However, the depth seen at Futures tournaments in the U.S. was a new and great experience for them,” said head coach Worth Richardson.
“Many top colleges were present, including Ole Miss, Michigan, Alabama and Tennessee. Our guys showed that they can compete on that level but that we have several areas in which to improve before taking that next step.”
During that first day of play, Henning defeated Dejon Bivens of the United States, a former No. 1 player at Winthrop, by a 6-3, 6-2 score. Argentina’s Luciano Betella, a top 1,600 world ranked player, dropped Henning on Saturday, 6-1 and 6-4.
Pejic, meanwhile, faced USA’s Grayson Goldin, seeded 10th in the draw, on Friday in his first round matchup. A former starter at Florida State and a top-20 recruit in the class of 2013, Goldin topped Pejic by a 7-5, 6-4 score.
NSU will close out its fall season at the Wake Forest Invitational beginning on Friday.
Originally posted by NSUspartans.com | Used with permission
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