Men’s Tennis Ends Fall Tournament Schedule with ITA Southern Regional

Wednesday, October 16

Baton Rouge, La.

Troy University

ITA Regional

Men’s Tennis Ends Fall Tournament Schedule with ITA Southern Regional

10/15/2024 6:34:00 PM | Tennis (M)

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – The Troy men's tennis team is set to compete in the ITA Regional tournament from Wednesday, Oct. 16 – Monday, Oct. 21. After winning two draw finals in the Mercer Gridiron Classic, the Trojans look to build on their momentum in the fall.

"The competition is going to be even tougher, but that's why we wanted to play this tournament: to prepare and understand what it takes to go the extra mile," head coach Rolando Vargas said. "Some of these matches need heart, and they believe in the fight to come out on the winning side. We will keep working hard this week, and I'm looking forward to a new tournament in LSU."

Wednesday opens the qualifying round for singles with Vicente Arbelaez and Hiiro Sakamoto at 9 a.m. against Alabama A&M and Alabama State, respectively.

Tournament Information
What: ITA Southern Regional
Where: Baton Rouge, La. – LSU Tennis Complex
When: Wednesday, Oct. 16 – Monday, Oct. 21
Who: Southern Regional

Lineup
Luciano Alcocer, Yeray Andres Pastor, Vicente Arbelaez, Henrique de Brito, Noah Martens, Hiiro Sakamoto, Nicolas Simkin

Mercer Gridiron Classic Recap
Multiple Trojans won their flights facing competition from Mercer, Clemson, Georgia State, Jacksonville State and more in Macon, Ga. last weekend. Luciano Alcocer won his singles flight and teamed up with freshman Sakamoto to win a doubles flight. As a team, Troy went 12-5 in singles matches and 4-2 in doubles.

Alcocer and Sakamoto routed Mercer in the opening two rounds, 6-3 and 6-4, respectively, before punching their ticket to the finals in the east 'Flight B' draw. With Jacksonville State's David Krasner / Matei Palcau on the opposing side, the pair came out victorious, 6-4. The Mexico native's route to the singles saw wins over Mercer in the opening round, 7-5, 6-4, and semifinals, 6-1, 6-2, with Chattanooga falling in the round of 8, 6-4, 6-3. The draw culminated in a finals matchup with Chattanooga's Matej Laibl, where he battled in the first set, 6-4, and dominated the second, 6-2, for his second finals win.

Sakamoto moved on to the round of eight with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win before dropping a close 4-6, 6-7 (5-7) match to Marko Milosavljevic (Jacksonville State). Fellow freshman Henrique de Brito also played well in singles play, with de Brito advancing to the finals of his flight before falling 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.