Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus ITA All-American Championships on September 21, 2025
Men's Tennis
vs ITA All-American Championships
Thursday, October 17
Denver, CO
All Day
University of Utah
vs
ITA Regionals
Photo by: Clare Mullin
Men's Tennis Completes Day Two of ITA Regionals
10/17/2019 7:41 PM | Men's Tennis
Ute duo and Russell Benkaim advance to Round of 16 in main draws.
DENVER, Colo. – The University of Utah men's tennis team has concluded day two of competition at the ITA Mountain Regionals. Thursday's action consisted of the round of 32 doubles, round of 32 singles, as well as the rounds of 64 and 32 in the consolation singles bracket.
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The Utes had one team competing today in the round of 32 doubles, which was the 16th-seeded duo of Mathias Gavelin and Azat Hankuliyev. Gavelin and Hankuliyev notched a win over Jordan Azuma and Denali Kitayama of the Air Force Academy, with an 8-5 victory. With this win, Gavelin and Hankuliyev will continue on tomorrow in the round of 16 and are set to face off against New Mexico State's Louis Menard and Jordy Visser.
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The day then continued with the round of 32 singles where Russell Benkaim matched up against Ben Gjardo from BYU and picked up the victory in a competitive match with a score of 6-4, 7-5. Benkaim will continue play in the main draw, advancing to the round of 16 singles. Benkaim will play against Andreja Petrovic from North Dakota in his next match.
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In the round of 64 consolation draw, Rian Ta was matched up against Lukas Buth from North Dakota and fell short with a score of 2-6, 3-6. Rafael Grovas then faced off against Alexander Groves from Northern Arizona and came up short, falling 2-6, 4-6.Â
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Then, in a competitive three-set match, Paul McCallie beat out Daniel Dillon from Northern Arizona, with a score of 6-2, 2-6, 10-4 to continue his tournament play. Gavelin also saw action in the round of 64, knocking off Boise State's Ryland McDermott, 6-1, 6-0. With wins by McCallie and Gavelin, both advanced to the round of 32 consolation draw that began late Thursday afternoon.
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Following his win, Gavelin played against Bo-Han Li from Weber State next, but fell short in an extremely tight match, 6-7, 6-4, 10-2 to end his singles run. McCallie then faced off against Patrick Sklenka from Air force and came away victorious in a back-and-forth, 7-6, 7-5 match. McCallie will continue tomorrow in the round of 16 consolation draw and will match up against Julien Evrard from the University of Nevada.
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Tournament play at the ITA Regionals will continue Friday morning for Utah in Denver. Live scores from the event and brackets can be found at the ITA Website, while the full recap of the day's action can be found at UtahUtes.com once play has concluded.
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ITA Regional Championships – Day 2 Results
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Doubles – Round of 32
16th-Seeded Mathias Gavelin/Azat Hankuliyev (UU) def. Jordan Azuma/Denali Kitayama (AFA), 8-5
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Singles – Round of 32
8th-Seeded – Russell Benkaim (UU) def. Ben Gajardo (BYU), 6-4, 7-5
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Singles – Round of 64 Consolation Draw
Lukas Buth (ND) def. Rian Ta (UU), 6-2, 6-3
Alexander Groves (NAU) def. Rafael Grovas (UU), 6-2, 6-4
Paul McCallie (UU) def. Daniel Dillon (NAU), 6-2, 2-6, 10/4
Mathias Gavelin (UU) def. Ryland McDermott (BSU), 6-1, 6-0
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Singles – Round of 32 Consolation Draw
Paul McCallie (UU) def. Patrick Sklenka (AFA), 7-6 (12), 7-5
Bo-Han Li (WSU) def. Mathias Gavelin (UU), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10/2
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The Utes had one team competing today in the round of 32 doubles, which was the 16th-seeded duo of Mathias Gavelin and Azat Hankuliyev. Gavelin and Hankuliyev notched a win over Jordan Azuma and Denali Kitayama of the Air Force Academy, with an 8-5 victory. With this win, Gavelin and Hankuliyev will continue on tomorrow in the round of 16 and are set to face off against New Mexico State's Louis Menard and Jordy Visser.
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The day then continued with the round of 32 singles where Russell Benkaim matched up against Ben Gjardo from BYU and picked up the victory in a competitive match with a score of 6-4, 7-5. Benkaim will continue play in the main draw, advancing to the round of 16 singles. Benkaim will play against Andreja Petrovic from North Dakota in his next match.
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In the round of 64 consolation draw, Rian Ta was matched up against Lukas Buth from North Dakota and fell short with a score of 2-6, 3-6. Rafael Grovas then faced off against Alexander Groves from Northern Arizona and came up short, falling 2-6, 4-6.Â
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Then, in a competitive three-set match, Paul McCallie beat out Daniel Dillon from Northern Arizona, with a score of 6-2, 2-6, 10-4 to continue his tournament play. Gavelin also saw action in the round of 64, knocking off Boise State's Ryland McDermott, 6-1, 6-0. With wins by McCallie and Gavelin, both advanced to the round of 32 consolation draw that began late Thursday afternoon.
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Following his win, Gavelin played against Bo-Han Li from Weber State next, but fell short in an extremely tight match, 6-7, 6-4, 10-2 to end his singles run. McCallie then faced off against Patrick Sklenka from Air force and came away victorious in a back-and-forth, 7-6, 7-5 match. McCallie will continue tomorrow in the round of 16 consolation draw and will match up against Julien Evrard from the University of Nevada.
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Tournament play at the ITA Regionals will continue Friday morning for Utah in Denver. Live scores from the event and brackets can be found at the ITA Website, while the full recap of the day's action can be found at UtahUtes.com once play has concluded.
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ITA Regional Championships – Day 2 Results
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Doubles – Round of 32
16th-Seeded Mathias Gavelin/Azat Hankuliyev (UU) def. Jordan Azuma/Denali Kitayama (AFA), 8-5
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Singles – Round of 32
8th-Seeded – Russell Benkaim (UU) def. Ben Gajardo (BYU), 6-4, 7-5
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Singles – Round of 64 Consolation Draw
Lukas Buth (ND) def. Rian Ta (UU), 6-2, 6-3
Alexander Groves (NAU) def. Rafael Grovas (UU), 6-2, 6-4
Paul McCallie (UU) def. Daniel Dillon (NAU), 6-2, 2-6, 10/4
Mathias Gavelin (UU) def. Ryland McDermott (BSU), 6-1, 6-0
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Singles – Round of 32 Consolation Draw
Paul McCallie (UU) def. Patrick Sklenka (AFA), 7-6 (12), 7-5
Bo-Han Li (WSU) def. Mathias Gavelin (UU), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10/2
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Players Mentioned
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