Five Panthers reach Round of 32 at Ojai Tournament
OJAI, Calif. – Chapman University senior Justin Thompson reached the Round of 16 at the 115th Annual Ojai Valley Tournament to lead the Panthers in the regular season's penultimate tournament. Thompson withdrew from his Round of 16 match, nursing an injury after defeating Pomona-Pitzer's Marco Mandic in three sets in the Round of 32.
Thompson came from behind to defeat Mandic after losing the first set 2-6, rallying to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-3. He had received a first-round bye as the No. 16 seed in the Division III men's singles bracket. Thompson will rest up and hopes to be ready for the first round of the SCIAC Championships which begins on Friday at Pomona-Pitzer.
The Panthers had five players advance to the Round of 32, although Thompson was the only one to go any further. Juniors Hunter Morris and Brett Buford also rallied from one-set down to win their first round matchups in three sets. Sophomore Charlie Werman earned a straight-sets win over Caltech's Ruthwick Pathireddy 6-3, 6-4 to advance. Freshman Justin P. Thompson also earned a first-round bye before falling in the Round of 32.
Buford and Werman also advanced to the Round of 16 in the doubles bracket with an 8-3 win over Whittier duo Sam Farmer and Ian Ross to earn their 12th win of the year.
Chapman (9-8 overall, 3-4 SCIAC) will be the No. 5 seed when the conference championships begin on Friday.
by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director
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