ORLANDO, Fla. – Senior Mazen Osama and sophomore Patrick Kaukovalta advanced to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Doubles Championships after defeating No. 17 Dominik Kellovsky and Nathan Ponwith of Arizona State, 6-2, 6-4, on Tuesday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. The No. 11 pair in the country will move on to play the winner of Klinger/Rowe of Vanderbilt (No. 5-8 seed) and Blumberg/Boyden (UNC) on Wednesday.
Osama and Kaukovalta picked up their first-career NCAA doubles tournament victories after their straight set win on Tuesday afternoon. The two started the match by gaining the 3-0 advantage, eventually going on to clinch opening set, 6-2.
In the second, both sides stayed on serve with the score knotted at 4-4. Osama and Kaukovalta finished out the match after winning the last two games to punch their ticket to the Round of 16. The victory was the first doubles tournament win for an Alabama pair since 2013.
The matchup between Klinger/Rowe and Blumberg/Boyden will be played later Tuesday. The Sweet 16 match time has yet to be determined, but will have live scoring, along with a live stream available on the USTA website when the time is announced.
