Oct. 31, 2010
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Auburn junior Alex Stamchev continued to have a solid fall as he earned the Flight One singles title at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic Sunday afternoon held at the Fertitta Tennis Complex in Las Vegas. The three-day invite ran from Friday afternoon to Sunday.
"It was a nice way for Alex (Stamchev) to finish the fall season," head coach Eric Shore said. "He did a great job coming off a tough tournament last weekend. I'm really proud of how he was able to close the fall with a great tournament win."
Stamchev reached the Flight One singles final and faced Arizona's Jay Goldman. He took a 6-4 win in the first set and concluded the tournament with a 6-3 second-set victory to seal the singles title.
"It feels really good to get my first tournament win and it is a great way to finish the fall," Stamchev said. "This will not only help my rankings in the spring, but also the team's and I'm happy to contribute to that. I'm excited to go into the spring season with this boost of confidence."
The Pleven, Bulgaria, product opened the tournament Friday with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Cal Poly's Alex Sonesson. He followed with a quarterfinal win over host UNLV's Kyle Lynch (6-3, 6-3). Stamchev qualified for the tournament finals with a tough three-set win on Saturday. He took on UNLV's Mehdi Bouras and came away with a 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Also representing Auburn at the three-day invite was sophomore Michael Wardell. He kicked off the tournament with a three-set thriller over Arizona's David Humphreys in the first round of Flight Two singles. Wardell defeated Humphreys 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. He concluded the tournament with a two-set loss (6-4, 6-4) to UNLV's Bernard Schoeman.
Stamchev and Wardell paired up and competed in the doubles competition. The duo reached the quarterfinals on a bye, but fell to UNLV's Alex Bull and Rene Ruegamer in a tight 9-8 (3) match.
The Tigers conclude the fall season with the Alabama Crimson Tide Fall Tournament, Nov. 5-7, in Tuscaloosa.