AUBURN, Ala. – University of South Alabama men's tennis player Louis Delcour picked up a three-set win (6-3, 4-6, 6-4) as he defeated Auburn's Spencer Gray in the qualifying round finals and earned a spot in Saturday's Main Draw of ITA Southern Regionals hosted by Auburn University at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Martin Bugaj was also victorious as he won in straight-sets (6-4, 6-2) on Friday over Michal Lusovsky (UAB) in a consolation match.
Tournament Name: ITA Southern Regionals
Host: Auburn
Date: 10/18
Place: Yarbrough Tennis Center (Auburn, Ala.)
ROUND OF 16 – SINGLES – QUALIFYING ROUND
- ^Louis Delcour (South Alabama) def. Spencer Gray (Auburn), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
^ – Advances to Main Draw with the singles win
CONSOLATION – SINGLES – QUALIFYING ROUND
- Martin Bugaj (South Alabama) def. Michal Lusovsky (UAB), 6-4, 6-2
NOTES
- Loïc Cloes / Clément Marzol received a first round bye on Friday and will begin play in the Main Draw of the event with Samford's team of Rossouw Norval / Mohammed Ali Belalouna at 9 a.m. Bugaj / Delcour also received a first-round bye and will face Max Rebol / Timothy Dixon (Samford) at 9 a.m. as well at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
- Cloes – the draw's sixth seed – will open up singles play in the Main Draw Saturday when the senior takes on Auburn's Tyler Stice at 1:30 p.m.
- Marzol will face Hamish Stewart (Tulane), who is ranked No. 110 and seeded fifth, at 1:30 p.m.
- With his win on Friday, Delcour was one of eight players in the qualifying round to earn a spot I the Main Draw as he will face Ivailo Keremedchiev (Louisiana) – seeded eighth in the draw – at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
UP NEXT
- Main Draw doubles action is slated to start on Saturday with the Round of 32 and the Round of 16 in the morning, while Main Draw singles play is set to take place in the afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Nick Brochu
- On the play of Delcour: "I'm very happy with Louis' performance today. He was able to dig deep again. After Louis took the first set and looked as if he was going to cruise to the finish line as he led in late in the second set, but his opponent got really hot and started playing really well winning six of the last seven games in the set. It was a little nerve-wrecking for Louis, but he just upped his game and made a lot of shots where he made his opponent run. I was very happy with the way he stayed calm and didn't panic even though his opponent was playing really well.
- On the play of Bugaj: "Martin also had a good day. Even though he was only playing a consolation match, he took care of business.
- On the start of Main Draw play: "We're excited to have Louis in the Main Draw. Tomorrow we have some good matches; it's the Main Draw and there are no easy matches. You play guys who are top three or top four from any of those schools. That's going to be a challenge. We first start out with doubles and the key will be to have a big start. We are playing pro-set, so if you start slow, it's very difficult to come back. It's not a good position to be in. We're going to get ready for tomorrow morning. Because of the projected weather, there's a very good chance it's going to be indoors, which will make it very fast and explosive play, but I feel our guys are ready."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Baseline Club, the tennis-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Baseline Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's and women's tennis programs. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/baselineclub
—USA—
