Boston College
NCAA Doubles Championship
Bianchi and Vassel's Impressive Season Ends in Third-Set Heartbreak
May 21, 2024 | Men's Tennis
STILLWATER, Okla. – Jake Vassel and Juan Jose Bianchi's impressive season came to a heartbreaking end on Tuesday night, dropping a third set tiebreaker to Texas's Cleever Harper and Eliot Spizzirri in the first round of the NCAA DI Men's Tennis Doubles Championship 6-4, 3-6, 0-1 (8-10).Â
BC's top doubles pair found themselves in a back-and-forth affair as Texas looked to bounce back from its Team National Championship loss on Sunday. Bianchi and Vassel took five of the last seven points in set one to secure a 6-4 set victory.
Momentum would swing away from the Eagles in set two during a 3-3 deadlock. Harper and Spizzirri forced a third set tiebreaker after Boston College surrendered three straight points to drop the second set 3-6.
Bianchi and Vassel opened the third set on a tear, taking a 4-1 lead in the early moments of the final frame. Texas would battle back in an exchange including three ties and three lead changes, ultimately taking a 9-6 lead to enter match point. BC mounted one last comeback effort to get within one but could not overcome the deficit, falling short 8-10.
The Eagles duo became the first BC representatives in program history to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA DI Men's Tennis Championships, posting a 21-7 across all play this season. They advanced to the ITA National Fall Championship Quarterfinals after defeating the fifth-seeded Oklahoma State, and made the ITA Northeast Super Regionals Semifinals earlier in the season. Playing the entire spring season at the No. 1 doubles slot, Bianchi and Vassel went 11-4 to earn All-ACC Third Team Doubles honors. The pair climbed as high as No. 8 in the ITA National Men's Doubles Rankings, the best ranking a doubles team has earned in program history.
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Players Mentioned
