Related Links:
Results (through Day 1)
 
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's tennis team kicked off its 2018 campaign Friday with the first day of the fifth annual Warhawk Fall Invitational at Wangerin Courts.
 
Competing against five scholarship schools representing the Division II and NAIA levels, the Warhawks won at least one match in all three doubles flights.
 
UW-Whitewater was well represented in the consolation final at No. 1 doubles. Senior Brandon Dechter (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic) and freshman Ryan Mitchell (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) edged senior Jimmy Engelhart (Brookfield, Wis./East) and freshman Alex Gray (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) 8-7 (6) to claim the consolation title.
 
At No. 2, junior Zach Wood (Downers Grove, Ill./South) and sophomore Robert Rider (Annapolis, Md./South River) reached the consolation final after an 8-2 triumph in the consolation semifinal over St. Francis (Ill.).
 
UW-Whitewater duos each won quarterfinal contests at the third flight. Junior Matthew Primozic (Elkhart Lake, Wis./Plymouth) and freshman Parker Hearne (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) earned an 8-6 triumph over Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), and freshmen Noah Guillermo (Muskego, Wis./Marquette University HS) and Brendan Pietila (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead) recorded an 8-4 victory over another Olivet Nazarene pair.
 
After both Warhawk pairs were defeated in the semifinals, Primozic and Hearne bested Guillermo and Pietila in the third-place match, 8-6.
 
One round of singles play was completed Friday. Wood is onto the semifinals in the third flight after a 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-5) win over Ferris State (Mich.). Pietila reached the semis at No. 4 with a 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6) triumph over Grand Valley State (Mich.).
 
Primozic will compete in the semifinals at No. 6 after a 6-0, 6-0 victory over St. Francis in his quarterfinal match, and Rider earned a bye to the semifinal round at the seventh flight.
 
Play continues Saturday at 9:30 a.m.