TULSA, Okla. – University of South Alabama men's tennis player Loïc Cloes rallied back to pick up a three-set victory (1-6, 6-3, 6-2) over 51st-ranked Bojan Jankulovski of Miami [Fla.] Monday at the Saint Francis Health System ITA-All-American Championships.

Tournament Name: Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships
Host: Tulsa
Date: 10/7
Place: Michael D. Case Tennis Center / Union 9th Grade Center (Tulsa, Okla.)

QUALFYING ROUND – FIRST ROUND – SINGLES
- No. 124 Loïc Cloes (South Alabama) def. No. 51. Bojan Jankulovski (Miami [Fla.]), 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
- Luca Wiedenmann (Tennessee) def. Clément Marzol (South Alabama), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3

NOTES
- After dropping his first set, Cloes battled back to take the next two and advanced into the second round.
- Jankulovski entered the qualifying round as the round's top-seed and was ranked No. 51 in the preseason ITA singles rankings.
- With the loss, Marzol drops into the consolation round where he will have to win to stay alive.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Qualifying Rounds – Oct. 7-8
Main Draw – Oct. 9-13

UP NEXT
- Both Cloes and Marzol will continue play Tuesday at the ITA All-American. Cloes will face Ethan Leon (SMU) at 9 a.m. at the Case Tennis Center, while Marzol is scheduled to play Francisco Bastias (Miami [Fla.]) at 1:30 p.m. at the Union 9th Grade Center.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Nick Brochu
- On Cloes' first round victory: "What a performance by Loïc. What's really hard in the game of tennis is when you're struggling or having an off day, you can't be subbed out. Loïc was having a really rough day [in the first set] and was playing a very tough opponent who brings everything back. Every rally the two of them had was easily 8-10 balls, and the other player was just more consistent than Loïc [in the first set]. He was getting irritated because he is used to fast-paced and short rallies. [Jankulovski] was able to neutralize everything Loïc was doing. On top of that, Loïc had an off day on his serve, which is usually one of his strengths. Loïc had to rely on his forehand and backhand and his baseline game to beat Jankulovski, which was the No. 1 seed in the quallies and ranked nationally for a reason, who is a tricky lefty.

"I'm very proud of Loïc for the way he kept his composure and was able to settle himself down after the first couple of games. He stopped worrying about why things weren't working. After he lost the first set, he really calmed down and figured out that he was going to have to be twice as patient and twice as smart in order to get the win. He was able to get himself back into the match and after he won the second set, his confidence went straight up and he dominated from there. His game was off, but he found a way to win. When you're able to overcome those bad days, it feels twice as good."
- On Marzol's first round of play: "Clem played a very steady player from Tennessee, who was solid on both sides. We weren't able to find his weakness and when you're unable to do that, you try to go for a shot that you shouldn't. You kind of rush into your transitions and when you play a high-level opponent like we did today, you give them a few points and that makes the difference, which happened in the first set. In the second set in the game where Clem got broken, there was a deuce point which went very long and he missed a ball by about a foot, which was pivotal. It was a hard day for him. He did play well, but his opponent was just a little bit tougher today mentally and had a little more discipline. Clem will definitely learn a lot from this match. Both our players are playing high-level tennis and that's what we came here for."

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