BALTIMORE, Md. - The Navy tandem of Bill Kacergis (Malvern, Pa.) and Senen Ubina (Greenwich, Conn.) defeated teammates Randy Beck (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) and Jack Herold (Chicago, Ill.) to win the 2015 Maryland State Open Doubles Squash Championship this past weekend played at the Meadow Mill Athletics Club in Baltimore, Md.

With the graduation of his older brother Jim, Bill Kacergis was forced to find a new partner in this year's tournament. He paired up with a rookie, who played little like a first-year collegiate player. Kacergis and Ubina dealt James Meek and John Porter a 16-14, 15-8, 15-10 loss to set up a semifinals battle against top-seeded Douglas Hoffberger and Joel Rothwell. The Navy pair jumped out to a 2-0 advantage with back-to-back 16-14 victories before their foes drew within one by taking game three, 15-11. Kacergis and Ubina closed out the match with a 15-8 victory and punched their ticket into the championship match against their Navy teammates.

Beck and Herold, meanwhile, defeated second-seeded Bo Cashman and Nigel Thain in their opening match of the tournament in four games. Cashman and Thain scored a victory in the first game, 15-6, before the Navy duo came storming back to win three in a row (15-11, 15-13, 15-10) to advance to the semis. Beck and Herold faced a tough match against Christopher Holter and Christopher Haley, as that match also went four games. The Mids took a 2-0 lead with 15-10 and 15-13 wins before Holter and Haley cut into Navy's lead with a 15-13 win in the third. Beck and Herold, however, went on to win game four, 15-10, to move on to the championship match.

In a see-saw affair, the two Navy teams traded victories - Kacergis and Ubina took games one (15-12) and three (15-13), while Beck and Herold won games two (15-11) and four (15-13). Kacergis and Ubina, however, outlasted their teammates and took the fifth game, 15-13, to earn the victory.

Additionally, Navy freshmen Jamie Kjorlien (Greenwich, Conn.) and Dylan Sweeney (New York, N.Y.) put together a 3-0 record that featured wins over the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to win the men's B division, and in mixed doubles action, junior Allison Murray teamed up with freshman John Kacergis (Malvern, Pa.) to take fourth.

The Maryland State Open Doubles Squash Championship provided the Navy players the experience and preparation needed as they focus on the National Intercollegiate Doubles Championship slated for Oct. 10-12 in Philadelphia.


### Go Navy ###