Three University of Rochester Yellowjackets continued their solid run and made it to the main draw of the 2015 Rochester ProAm.
Photos by Paul Schwartz:
Photos by Bill Lampeter:
The shadow on Tomo:
(L) Tomotaka Endo (JPN) bt (6) Adam Perkiomaki (USA) 3-1
(11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7) 50 minutes
— plays Amaad Fareed (PAK)
(Match report by Adam Perkiomaki)
University of Rochester showed strong representation as current freshman, Endo, and current assistant coach, Perkiomaki, met on court. The match began evenly, both players hitting an equal amount of errors and winners. In the third Perkiomaki got out to a quick lead, but with impeccable coaching from the season still fresh in his mind, Endo took strong position on the T and kept his opponent deep with relentless volleying. Perkiomaki looked for head coach Martin Heath to tag in during the fourth game, while Endo was able to apply steady pressure and secure the win.
(L) Neil Cordell (ENG) bt (3) Italo Bonatti (GUA) 3-1
(11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9) 45 minutes
— plays Josue Enriquez (GUA)
(Match report by Jesse Cramer)
This match saw a physically fit Italo Bonatti against the technically clean Neil “The Cabbie” Cordell.
In game 1, Italo came out flat and Neil seized control. The game remained close via a few Cordell tins, but four points in a row from 6-6 gave Cordell plenty of breathing room. He converted his first game ball to win 11-6.
The second was much tighter, going back and forth the whole game. Italo found himself up late at 8-7, but Cordell pulled back and earned a game ball at 10-9. After a long rally, Italo clipped the tin while going for a cross court fade. Cordell wins 11-9.
In the third, Italo seized control and never looked back. 3-1 turned into 7-3. Cordell pulled back a few points, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 11-8 victory for Italo.
The fourth was exhilarating, both players fighting for every point. Neil earned a two point lead a few different times, but Italo always pulled back. Cordell seemed to dominate the backhand side, while Italo exerted a lot of pressure with his forehand attacks. At 8-8, the players started appealing a bit to the ref, who was forced to make three crucial calls in the late game–with both players expecting the call to go their way. All three benefited Cordell, much to the chagrin of the Guatemalan contingent. The calls were close, but an argument could be made either way. Unfortunately for Italo, he was on the losing side of these calls, and Neil was able to eke out the 11-9 victory to clinch the match.
(L) Ryosei Kobayashi (JPN) bt David Clegg (AUS) 3-0
(11-5, 11-5, 11-5) 25 minutes
— plays Faraz Khan (USA)
(Match report by Adam Perkiomaki)
The final match of the evening featured a showdown between the local Ryo Kobayashi and qualy #1 seed David Clegg. Ryo, current University of Rochester sophomore, began firing in shots early. A display of impressive retrieval and recovery play from the Aussie followed, showing his grit to keep the rallies alive. Each game progressed with both players building the pace up steadily, Ryo pulling away in each with a string of quick flicks and gets. At the end of the well-fought and entertaining match, it was the Japanese Assassin who outshot the Aussie Sniper.
(2) Syed Hamzah Shah Bukhari (PAK) bt (L) Mario Yañez (MEX) 3-1
(11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7) 72 minutes
— plays Michael McCue (CAN)
(Match report by Oscar Lopez)
Top seeded qualifier Syed Hamzah had a strong start against a very disciplined Mario Yañez. In the first game, Syed and Mario interchanged points until 9-9 when Mario made a couple of errors due to the fast pace of the game to put Syed up in the match, 11-9.
Mario had a very strong start in the second putting him at 9-5 to eventually win by score of 11-8.
Though the score was fairly close in the third game, Hamzah seemed more relaxed and Mario started to show signs of exhaustion. Hamzah 11-8
The fourth and last game seemed to be all to Hamza. Yañez was trying to return the ball and Hamzah was more confident and aggressive which led him to win by score of 11-7
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