AUBURN, Ala. – University of South Alabama men's tennis player Louis Delcour opened up play Thursday with a pair of singles victories in the qualifying round of the ITA Southern Regionals hosted by Auburn University at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

Martin Bugaj split his two matches falling in straight sets in his first match and then winning his consolation match in straight sets in the afternoon.

Tournament Name: ITA Southern Regionals
Host: Auburn
Date: 10/17
Place: Yarbrough Tennis Center (Auburn, Ala.)

ROUND OF 64 – SINGLES – QUALIFYING ROUND
- Karlo Kajin (Louisiana) def. Martin Bugaj (South Alabama), 6-3, 6-1
- Louis Delcour (South Alabama) def. Alejo Calvis (Alabama State), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4

ROUND OF 32 – SINGLES – QUALIFYING ROUND
- Delcour (South Alabama) vs. Mats Westkamp (New Orleans), 7-5, 6-3

CONSOLATION – SINGLES – QUALIFYING ROUND
- Bugaj (South Alabama) def. Michael Durham (Auburn), 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)

NOTES
- Delcour – the fifth seed in the qualifying round bracket – dropped the first set, but bounced back to win the final two in his opening round match.
- The sophomore then swept Westkamp of New Orleans in straight sets to advance in the bracket.

UP NEXT
- With the two wins, Delcour moves onto Friday's final qualifying round match where he will take on Auburn's Spencer Gray at 11 a.m. Martin will also play a consolation match on Friday with an opponent yet to be determined.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Nick Brochu
- On Day One: "It was a little bit of a slow start today for us. I think both Louis and Martin struggled and our serves weren't good either; that was definitely a weakness for us and put us in a bad position a couple of times. Both players would go up a break and then not be able to hold the break because of poor serving, which let their opponents back in the match.
- On Bugaj: "Martin was off this morning and his weapon is usually his forehand, but this morning it wasn't working for him as it was flying long. It was nice to see him regroup in his second match and be able to dig deep to win that second set. His opponent made a big comeback at the end and made a big push, but Martin stayed solid. It doesn't matter if its first, second or consolation round, whenever you are able to win a close match like he did this afternoon, it feels good. I'm glad he was able to come up big in the breaker and not fade away. It was a good way for him to finish the day."
- On Delcour: "Louis took care of business as a seeded player in the qualifying round should. He had a slow start in the first set of the first match, but was then able to get into a groove, rally back and impose his style of play. In the second match, he had a good start and was able to maintain the pressure on his opponent. Louis is a solid player and you can always rely on him being consistent, which paid off for him. We're looking forward to tomorrow's match. It's the deciding match on whether or not he will advance into the Main Draw and I feel he'll be ready for the challenge."

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