Local Talent Shines as Edwardsville Hosts 2024 Tennis Tournament

EDWARDSVILLE - A major upset occurred on Saturday when two-time defending 18-and-over singles champions Dave Snider of Collinsville was upset in the second round, while open top seeds Ollie Okonkwo and Kseniya Zanova advanced to the finals on day two of the 2024 Edwardsville Open tennis tournament, presented by the Opel Bash Group, on Saturday at the Edwardsville Tennis Center.

A sunny, but hot day, greeted players and spectators alike, but made for very good tennis throughout the day, as the finals were determined in the women's open division, and the men's semifinals were also decided.

In the men's open singles Round of 16, Okonkwo, from Iowa City, Ia., won over Stefan Hester 6-4, 6-2, while Farris Gosea defeated C.J. Smith 6-4, 6-2. Blake Strode eliminated Fadi Zyad Zamjaoui 6-4, 6-1, Deacon Thomas defeated Nick Shirley 6-0, 6-1, Will Eklund won over Kallim Stewart 6-3, 3-1, with Stewart retiring due to injury, Sergiu Calebridachi eliminated Sophos Montsi 7-5, 6-3, Case Fagan defeated Edwardsville's Colton Hulme 6-0, 6-0, and William Mroz got past Graham Faris 6-0, 6-1.

In the quarterfinals, Okonkwo won over Gosea by injury walkover, Strode defeated Thomas 4-6, 7-6 (7-3 in the tiebreak), 13-11, Ecklund won over Calebridachi 6-3, Calebridachi retiring due to injury, and Mroz won over Fagin 6-1, 6-1.

In the men's HTRP 4.0 18-and over singles second round, Snider, having received a bye into the round, was upset by Raymond Yang 7-5, 5-7, 12-10, while Jonathan Douglas won over Michael Tang 6-2, 6-1, Timothy Flatt got past Kelen McDonald 6-4, 6-1, and David Gonzalez won over Ian McGinness 6-3, 3-6, 10-8. In the other matches, Joe Oakes won over Jeff Grimm 6-4, 6-0, Alex Boker took a 6-3, 6-3 win over Matt Brobeck, Gabe Clevenger won over Anthony Zollo 2-6, 6-2, 10-4, and Ryan Cochran won over Milo Kathriner 6-4, 6-3.

The quarterfinal results had Yang winning over Douglas by injury walkover, Flatt eliminated Gonzalez 4-6, 7-6 (7-3 in the tiebreak), 10-6, Oakes got past Boker 6-4, 3-6, 10-7, and Cochran defeated Clevenger 6-3, 2-6, 10-3.

The women's open singles quarterfinals saw Zonova win over Edwardsville's Sophie Byron 6-3, 6-1, Shannon Gordon-Carney eliminated Helena Malinakova 6-4, 6-2, Chloe Koons of Edwardsville defeated Albina Selimi 6-0, 6-0, and Victoria Lissen got past Dia Kannan of Edwardsville 6-1, 6-1. In the semifinals, Zanova went to the final over Gordon-Carney 6-0, 6-1, and Lissen won over Koons 7-6 (7-4 in the tiebreak), 6-3.

In the opening round of the men's open doubles, which were all one-set, winner take all matches, Alan Patrick and Emmanuel Akwanor Wettey won over John Almos and Brandon Wong of Edwardsville 8-1, Edwardsville's Schaefer Bates and Zamjaoui 8-2, the Edwardsville team of Jesse Hattrup and Jade Dynamic eliminated the Troy duo of Devan and Dylan Faulkenberg 8-4, Paul Stuart and Kirk Schlueter of Edwardsville defeated Ryder Ward and Tyler Colleson 8-3, Edwardsville's Seth Lipe and Gosea won over Nick Koch and Smith 9-7, Paul Castleman and Jai Patel defeated Greg Berger and James Barenkamp 8-5, Spencer Pompian and Kai Daudsyah won by walkover past Noah Gou and Aiden Qian, and Hulme and Isaiah Chattic got past Kai Gustafson and Jace Jameson 9-7.

In the second round, Okonkwo and Lucas Horve won over Patrick and Wettey 8-2, Piotr Lada and Hester took an 8-3 win over Bates and Zamjaoul, Hattrup and Dynamic were trailing to Tettamble and Strode 4-3, when the Tettamble-Strode team were forced to retire, due to injury, Colin Fox and Celebidachi took an 8-3 win over Stuart and Schlueter, Lipe and Gosea eliminated Fagan and Danny Rake 8-5, Ecklund and Montsi won over Patel and Castleman 8-0, Nathan Chan and Faris got past Pompien and Daidsyah 8-3, and Gabrielius Guzauskas and Mroz won over Hulme and Chattac 8-1.

In the quarterfinals, Okonkwo and Horve eliminated Lada and Hester 8-2, Hattrup and Dynamic won over Fox and Calebridachi 8-5, Ecklund and Montsi advanced with a 9-7 win over Lipe and Gosea, and Guzauskas and Mraz took an 8-3 win over Chan and Faris to advance to the last four.

The HTRP 18-and-over men's doubles were played in their entirety, and in the quarterfinals, Boker and Snider won over Eli Woodrome and Jordan Beck 8-4, Clevenger and Harrison Clark elminated Yang and Tang 8-2, Hung Nguyen and Wyatt Jurgensmeyer Brian Clark and Flatt 8-1, and Douglas and Zack Huels eliminated Ali Javaheri and Michael Pompian 8-6.

In the semifinals, it was Boker and Snider defeating Clevenger and Clark 8-4, and Nguyen and Jurgensmeyer won over Douglas and Huels 8-2. In the final Nguyen and Jurgensmeyer won the championship over Snider and Boker 8-3.

The women's open doubles were also decided on Saturday, and in the quarterfinals, Byron and Katie Woods of Edwardsville won over Patricia Mercade Gonzalez and Lilli Fand 8-0, and Lisson and Grace Brown eliminated Annika and Lucy List 8-0. In the semifinals, Zonova and Kataryna Kulynych won over Byron and Woods 8-5, and Lissen and Brown defeated another Edwardsville team, Kannan and Koons, 8-1. Zonova and Kulynych won the final over Lissen and Brown 8-5.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

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Dan Brannan also contributed to this story

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