Troy University Athletics
Thursday, October 13
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
All Day
Troy University
vs
ITA Southern Regional
Men’s Tennis Preps for ITA Regionals in Tuscaloosa
10/12/2022 2:14:00 PM | Tennis (M)
TROY, Ala. – Troy's entire roster will be in action for the first time this fall as the Trojans descend on the University of Alabama Tennis Center for the ITA Southern Regional Championships, which begin Thursday with the qualifying draw.
Three Trojans opened play two weeks ago at the ITA All-American Championship against some of the top players in the country. Noah Martens earned a win over his opponent from Penn State, while Carles Anton and Mario Martinez Serrano dropped competitive matches in their opening draw against opponents from Arizona State and Baylor.
"This is a tournament where a lot of teams in the region show up, and it is a very competitive tournament," head coach Rolando Vargas said. "It will be a good opportunity for our guys to show what they've got, especially our two freshmen. Every win is going to be very important for them to gain confidence."
The ITA Southern Regional opens with six Trojans competing in the qualifying draw on Thursday. Martens, Martinez Serrano, Yeray Andres Pastor, Vito Llinares and Nicolas Simkin all received byes into the round of 64, while Francisco Erramuspe drew Alabama State's Loca Bertone in the round of 128.
Llinares won eight of his last nine decisions to end the 2022 spring season, including a victory at No. 24 Florida State, while Martens posted a 16-8 record as a freshman and Simkin brings 49 career matches of experience into the season.
Anton earned a spot in the main draw thanks to his regional ranking and drew a bye into the round 32, where he will face the winner of Auburn's Alejandro Moreno and Mississippi State's Petar Jovanovic. Anton, a two-time All-Sun Belt selection, enters the season 56-14 in his three seasons at Troy, including an impressive 50-9 mark in dual matches.
"I've seen some of the returning players step up with the loss of three seniors from last year's team," Vargas said. "I've liked what I've seen from our returners, and our freshmen have come in with a great work ethic. Pelayo Antuna, who is now our graduate assistant, has worked well with the freshmen and watching them play you can't tell that they are freshmen. We've matured as a team, and everybody is really excited to play this weekend."
Singles
Qualifying Draw - Thursday
Noah Martens (Troy) vs. Vence Ntche (Alabama A&M)
Yeray Andres Pastor (Troy) vs. Noah Malige (UAB)
Vito Llinares (Troy) vs. Will Gray (Samford)
Francisco Erramuspe (Troy) vs. Louca Bertone (Alabama State)
Mario Martinez Serrano (Troy) vs. Alexander Gima (S. Miss)
Nicolas Simkin (Troy) vs. Antoine Audrain (S. Miss)
Main Draw -Saturday
Carles Anton (Troy) vs. Petar Jovanovic (Miss State)/Alejandro Moreno (Auburn)
Doubles
Qualifying Draw - Friday
Vito Llinares/Noah Martens (Troy) vs. Espen Lagarde/Luke Jourjan (UNO)
Carles Anton/Nicolas Simkin (Troy) vs. Maties Torres Ramis/German Ruiz Crespo (AAMU)
Mario Martinez Serrano/Yeray Andres Pastor (Troy) vs. Shamirul Shahril/Pasawee Reansuwong (S. Miss)
Players Mentioned
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