MOBILE, Ala. – After having three weeks off from tournament play, the University of South Alabama men’s tennis team will travel to Auburn, Ala. for the USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships.
The event is hosted by Auburn University and will take place Oct. 18-22 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
“It was nice to be able to take a little bit of time off and heal the injuries,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “I think the guys are rested physically and mentally and ready for this tournament.”
South Alabama will be sending senior Cody Hall (Albuquerque, N.M.), junior Shayann Vaezzadeh (Bavent, France) and sophomores Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) and Blake Gregor (Griffith, New South Wales, Australia).
All four players participated in the rain-shortened Southern Miss Invitational Sept. 28-29.
Leitner went 2-1 in Flight 1 and Vaezzadeh was 3-0 in Flight 2. The two also faced off in the Flight 1 championship at the Big Easy Tennis Classic Sept. 21-23.
“Daniel has had an excellent fall so far,” said Brochu. “He won the tournament in New Orleans and played really well at Southern Miss. He’s playing at a high level right now. Shayann was runner-up at New Orleans and also had a strong performance at Southern Miss. I’m excited to see those two guys not only play doubles together, but also to face those big boys from our region.”
Hall competed in the No. 3 Flight at the Southern Miss Invitational and went 1-2, while Gregor went 2-1 in Flight 4.
“Cody has always been really solid for us,” said Brochu. “We’re looking for him to hopefully come up with a big win. Blake has had a really good fall. He’s been growing so much physically and mentally over the past year. I think he’s really turning into a solid player.”
USA will be one of 13 teams participating in the USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships. The Jags will face opponents from Alabama, Auburn, Louisiana-Lafayette, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Nicholls State, Samford, Southern Miss, Troy, Tulane and UAB.
The first round of the singles and doubles main draw will begin Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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