2019 Dr. Johnson Memorial Championships Men's Results

ETTRICK, Va. — Freshman LaQuon Gilchrist picked up a win to start his first collegiate competition and he was named the men's sportsmanship award winner for the North Carolina Central University men's tennis team at the seventh annual Dr. Robert Walter Johnson Memorial Invitational Tennis Championship hosted by Virginia State University over the weekend of Sept. 20-22.
 
The Eagles picked up four total singles wins and two doubles victories in the event that included players from six institutions, including the host Trojans, Longwood University, North Carolina A&T State University, Howard University and Hampton University.
 
Gilchrist notched his triumph over VSU's Nigel Stewart in the first round of the B Flight. The Raleigh, North Carolina, product knocked off Stewart 6-3, 6-1.
 
NCCU senior Pablo Juez Torres led the Eagles with two singles wins, beginning with having the unenviable task of defeating his new teammate in Gilchrist (6-2, 6-1) in the second round of the B Flight. Juez Torres continued his strong play with a 6-1, 6-1 conquest of N.C. A&T's Pablo Carranza in the quarterfinals. The native of Barcelona, Spain, was eliminated in the close three-set semifinals battle against Longwood's Ernest Rocabert, who went on to win the B Flight championship in straight sets.
 
Rocabert's road to his triumphant flight title also included a 6-2, 6-3 victory over NCCU senior Sebastian Bromley in the quarterfinals. Bromley earned that match after providing the Eagles with a second round victory of 6-2, 6-3 over Howard's DeVaughn Blackburn.
 
In doubles play, Bromley and Gilchrist teamed up for a narrow win over a pair of Howard Bison in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (8). Bromley and Gilchrist were eliminated in another narrow bout, 7-5, against a Hampton Pirates duo.
 
Juez Torres finished with three total wins at the VSU Tennis Complex, partnering with sophomore Amit Baran for a 6-1 doubles victory over a pair of Trojans. Juez Torres and Baran defaulted out of their next match due to injury.
 
NC Central will next complete in the ITA Carolina Regional Championship at the Cary Tennis Park hosted by Duke University scheduled for Oct. 18-22.