Men’s Tennis Grabs Five Victories on Day Two of ITA Southern Regional

Friday, October 15

Auburn, Ala.

All Day

Troy University

ITA Southern Regional

Men’s Tennis Grabs Five Victories on Day Two of ITA Southern Regional

10/15/2021 10:34:00 PM | Tennis (M)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

AUBURN, Ala. – Nicolas Simkin and Pelayo Antuna won their semifinal matches in the qualifying draw at the ITA Southern Regional before losing in their championship matches on Friday. However, both are the top two individuals to fill a spot in the main draw if a player has to drop out.

Both knocked off Sun Belt foes in the semifinals as Simkin defeated Louisiana's Karo Kajin by a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 margin, and Antuna took care of Louisiana's Vasil Dimitrov in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. However, the draw was unlucky for the pair, with Simkin facing top-seeded Lukas Engelhardt from Ole Miss in the championship and Antuna squared off against the No. 3 seed in LSU's Diaz Freire.

In addition to the qualifier draw, three Trojans competed in the consolation bracket on Friday, with Manuel Bernard picking up a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Jacksonville State's Alexander Vishnevskiy.

In doubles, Antuna and Carles Anton cruised to an 8-0 victory in their opening match and Noah Martens and Vito Llinares advanced by default. Doubles play continues on Saturday with the round of 32 and a pair of Troy tandems playing, while Anton will make his singles debut in the main draw.

Full Schedule
Saturday: Doubles round of 32 and round of 16 (AM), 1 round main draw singles (PM)
Sunday: Doubles quarterfinals, singles quarterfinals
Monday: Doubles semifinals, singles semifinals
Tuesday: Singles and doubles finals

Friday's Results
Singles - Qualifier
Nicolas Simkin (Troy) def. Karo Kajin (Louisiana) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Lukas Engelhardt (Ole Miss) def. Nicolas Simkin (Troy) 6-2, 6-1
Pelayo Antuna (Troy) def. Vasil Dimitrov (Louisiana) 6-2, 6-3
Diaz Freire (LSU) def. Pelayo Antuna (Troy) 6-1, 6-2
Olmjon Nabiev (Southern Miss) def. Christopher Tasker (Troy) 5-7, 6-2, 6-0
Luc Hoejimans (Tulane) def. Noah Martens (Troy) 6-1, 6-4
Jakob Cadonau (Ole Miss) def. Vito Llinares (Troy) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2

Singles – Consolation
Manuel Bernard (Troy) def. Alexander Vishnevskiy (Jacksonville State) 6-3, 6-3
John Rabb (Auburn) def. Maxime Hillhouse (Troy) 6-1, 6-3
Mohammed Bellalouna (Samford) def. Francisco Erramuspe (Troy) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles – Main Draw
Benjamin Koch/Joao Graca (LSU) def. Christopher Tasker/Nicolas Simkin (Troy) 8-6
Noah Martens/Vito Llinares (Troy) def. Jackson Ross/Spencer Gray (Auburn) w/o inj
Pelayo Antuna/Carles Anton (Troy) def. Luka Andonov/Davide Pata (Alcorn State) 8-0

Saturday's Draw
Singles - Main Draw
Carles Anton (Troy) vs. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU)

Doubles - Main Draw
Noah Martens/Vito Llinares (Troy) vs. Fliip Planisek/Juan Martin (Alabama)
Pelayo Antuna/Carles Anton (Troy) vs. Tyler Stice/Jan Galka (Auburn)