NORFOLK, Va. – William & Mary men's tennis freshman Gur Trakhtenberg won a pair of matches on the opening day of the ITA Atlantic Region Championships to earn a spot in the main singles draw.
 
The Tribe rookie opened with a come-from-behind three-set win over George Mason senior Niza Simunyola in the first round of the qualifying draw. After dropping the opening set, 7-5, Trakhtenberg rolled in the final two sets, dropping just one total game, 6-0, 6-1.
 
Trakhtenberg earned a spot in the 64-player main draw with a straight-sets win over James Madison's Zachary Fleishman, 6-4, 6-3. He improved to a team-best 4-3 on the year.
 
Senior Sean Joseph went 1-1 in the qualifying draw. He opened with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Mount St. Mary's Akarsh Gaonkar, before falling to JMU's Aurelien Schmitt. Joseph is tied for a team lead in singles wins with four.
 
The ITA Atlantic Region Championships continues on Friday with the start of the main draw in both singles and doubles. Action starts with singles at 8:30 a.m. at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center in Norfolk.
 
W&M Results from the ITA Atlantic Region Championships
Qualifying First Round (64)
Jake Young (Navy) def. #4 Nikita Bortnichek (W&M) – 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-5
#3 Sean Joseph (W&M) def. Akarsh Gaonkar (Mt. St. Mary's) – 6-3, 6-1
Gur Trakhtenberg (W&M) def. Niza Simunyola (GMU) – 5-7, 6-0, 6-1
 
Qualifying Second Round (32)
Aurelien Schmitt (JMU) def. #3 Sean Joseph (W&M) – 6-1, 6-4
Gur Trakhtenberg (W&M) vs. Zachary Fleishman (JMU) – 6-4, 6-3