12/01 - Poggensee-Wei Wins Thanksgiving Challenger
Bryant Poggensee-Wei captured the Racine Thanksgiving Challenger held November 27-29 at the Racine Tennis Club in Racine, Wis. The title was Poggensee-Wei’s first in singles since taking an extended break from competitive tennis.
In the first round Bryant drew HTA classmate Matt Bevenour, who he topped 6-0, 6-1. In the second round Poggensee-Wei topped Jacob Kossoris 6-0, 6-3 to set up a match up with HTA’s Arthur Ozga.
Ozga advanced to the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Daniel Martin and a dominating 6-1, 6-1 victory over top-seed Alex Mattson.
The match up proved to be an instant classic as just two games separated the players in the match. Both the first and third sets were decided by 7-6(4) scores, with Ozga taking the first and Poggensee-Wei the third. In between was a 6-4 second set win by Bryant to stay in the match.
Poggensee-Wei fell behind early in the finals, and lost the first set 3-6 to Michael Treis. He took a tight second set 7-6(5), before cruising through the third set 6-0 to take the title. Poggensee-Wei’s serve proved to be the difference as he was unbreakable in the last two sets of the match.
“Bryant has made tremendous strides since returning to the game this fall,” said HTA Head Coach Djordje Uskokovic. “His serve and forehand are great weapons that allow him to place the pressure on his opponents early in matches. As his backhand consistency and movement improve he will be a scary opponent to face during the high school season.”
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