Rivera Reaches Finals at Louisville Fall Invitational

Louisville, Ky. -- Junior Jose Rivera won two matches Saturday to advance to the finals of the ?B' Flight singles main draw at the Louisville Fall Invitational at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center in Louisville, Ky. Rivera is the only Husker to remain alive in the three-day, 14-team tournament after winning his first four matches to lead the NU men's tennis team.

Rivera, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed in the ?B' Flight, went 2-0 on the day, winning in straight sets after struggling through his first two matches Friday. Rivera outdistanced Bojan Ilievski of Southern Illinois, 6-4, 7-6, in the quarterfinals before racing past No. 4 seed Greg Smith of Wright State, 6-2, 6-3, to reach the finals. Rivera will face Freddy Gomez of Toledo for the ?B' Flight championship Sunday. The unseeded Gomez defeated No. 2 seed Sam Davidson of DePaul in the second round.

In other action Saturday, four other Huskers had a chance to reach the semifinals, including No. 5 seed Joel Reckewey and Jeff Nabity in "A' Flight, No. 6 seed Justin Junck in ?B' Flight and No. 1 seed Tanner Gates in ?C' Flight. All five entered the day with 2-0 records but each fell in straight sets in the their first match of the day to end the tournament. Junior Joel Reckewey nearly became NU's second semifinalist before falling in a tough 7-5, 6-4, contest to host Louisville's Jakob Gustaffson. Gustaffson will face teammate Jeremy Clark in the ?A' Flight singles championship match. In ?C' Flight, Gates was upended 6-4, 6-0, by Josh Moran of UT-Martin,

The tournament concludes on Sunday Oct. 5 with championship matches in all three singles and doubles flights, as well as consolation championships in singles play.

Louisville Fall Invitational, Oct. 4, 2003, at Louisville, Ky.

?A' Flight Singles Main Draw
Jakob Gustaffson (UL) def. No. 5 seed Joel Reckewey (NU), 7-5, 6-4
Peter Bong (SIU) def. Jeff Nabity (NU), 6-0, 6-3

?B' Flight Singles Main Draw
No. 1 seed Jose Rivera (NU) def. Bojan Ilievski (SIU), 6-4, 7-6
No. 1 seed Jose Rivera (NU) def. Greg Smith (WSU), 6-2, 6-3
Danny Maguire (UTM) def. No. 6 seed Justin Junck (NU), 6-1, 6-4

?C' Flight Singles Main Draw
Josh Moran (UT) def. No. 1 seed Tanner Gates (NU), 6-4, 6-0