MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men’s tennis team will split up this weekend sending players to the 2010 D’Novo/ITA Men’s All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. and the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta.
USA senior Lucas Viel (Boussy-Saint-Antoine, France) and junior Romain Bocaert (Lille, France) will head west to take on the nation’s top tennis players at the All-American Championships hosted by the University of Tulsa.
“The All-American Tournament is definitely one of the biggest tournaments of the fall,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “If you do well in this tournament you can earn a ranking and that ranking can carry you the whole year.”
Viel and Bocaert begin play in the singles prequalifying round on Saturday morning. The Jags have to win four rounds in the single-elimination prequalifying bracket to advance to the qualifying round on Oct. 4.
“You’ve got to win a lot of matches to pass the prequalifying round and to pass the qualifying round to get to the main draw,” said Brochu. “It’s going to be tough, but we get to see how they compare to the best players in the nation.”
Bocaert and Viel will team up to compete in the doubles qualifying bracket on Oct. 5 where they will need to win three rounds to advance to the main draw. No consolation matches will be offered for the qualifying bracket.
Complete coverage of the 2010 D’Novo/ITA Men’s All-American Championships can be found on www.TulsaHurricane.com.
Meanwhile, Hanno Bartsch (Pretoria, South Africa), Dauw Kruger (Pretoria, South Africa), Jairo Seur (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Parker Allen (Hot Springs, Ark.) will be representing South Alabama at the 2010 Georgia Tech Invitational beginning Saturday at 7:50 a.m. at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
“The Georgia Tech Invitational has always been a good tournament,” Brochu said. “It’s in the middle of the fall season so people are already warmed up. We’re looking forward to getting a lot of matches in and having good results over there. Those four guys played some really good tennis at Southern Miss last weekend so I’m really looking forward to seeing how they’ll do.”
USA will be one of 13 teams participating in the three-day tournament. The Jags will face opponents from Georgia Tech, Georgia, Winthrop, North Alabama, UAB, Georgia State, Lipscomb, Armstrong Atlantic, Middle Tennessee, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Louisville and Auburn.
Consolation matches will be offered for both doubles and singles.
Bartsch and Kruger are playing in the A flight where they have a bye in the first round of play. Kruger’s first opponent is Georgia Tech’s Guillermo Gomez, the second seed, in the round of 32. Bartsch is slated to face Shaun Waters of Middle Tennessee.
Seur will match up against the second seed of the B flight, UGA’s Will Oliver, in his first match. Allen is scheduled to play James Murrell of Lipscomb.
In doubles action Bartsch and Seur team up to take on the Clemson tandem of Cal Hilsman and Wesley Moran in the A flight. In the B flight Kruger and Allen are matched up against Mario Hernandez and James Murrell of Lipscomb.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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