TULSA, Okla. – Day one of the Main Draw action in both singles and doubles proved to be a very successful one as University of South Alabama senior Loïc Cloes advanced to the Round of 32 with straight-set victory over 48th-ranked Brian Cernoch of North Carolina at the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships.

Cloes then returned to action later in the evening and teamed up with doubles partner Clément Marzol to defeat Georgia's tandem of Balke Croyder and Phillip Henning, 6-2, 6-4 and advance to Thursday's round of 32 in the doubles Main Draw.

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

MAIN DRAW DOUBLES – ROUND OF 64
- No. 37 Loïc Cloes / Clément Marzol (South Alabama) def. Blake Croyder / Philip Henning (Georgia), 6-2, 6-4

MAIN DRAW SINGLES – ROUND OF 64
- No. 124 Cloes def. No. 48 Brian Cernoch (North Carolina), 6-3, 7-5

NOTES
- Cloes' singles match against Cernoch, was moved indoors due to weather in the middle of the second set.
- With his straight-set win over Cernoch, Cloes advanced to the Round of 32 in the Main Draw, the deepest singles run in the prestigious tournament since Jack Baker advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2007 Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championship.
- Cloes has now knocked off three ranked opponents in his four singles victories at the event.
- Cloes and Marzol advanced to the quarterfinals of the Main Draw at the event last season before falling Florida's Andy Andrade and Oliver Crawford.

UP NEXT
- Cloes now moves on to face Florida's Sam Riffice, who is currently ranked 10th in the nation by the ITA, at 11 a.m. on Thursday. Cloes and Marzol will face the doubles team of Payton Holden / Ryan Seggerman,(Princeton) – ranked 15th nationally – in the Round of 32 on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Nick Brochu
- On Cloes' singles match: "Loïc played a very solid match and I was very proud of him. We had worked on different elements of the game during the match such as controlling the speed of the game, slowing the match down when the opponent gets into a good rhythm and then speeding it back up when Loïc took the lead. He executed well and was very coachable today. It was great to see him play and his competitiveness. He had some highs and lows during the match, but he stayed in control of himself and kept his emotions steady. Cernoch tried to make a big comeback at the end of the match, but Loïc was just solid.
"He went down a break as soon as we moved indoors, but he didn't let that bother him as he came right back and got the break back. [Cernoch] is a very tricky player, who's a lefty and a craft player. Loïc didn't let any of that bother him."
- On Cloes and Marzol's doubles victory: "We were playing indoors and it was very explosive playing in that environment. We were facing two young players from Georgia who had advanced through the qualifying round. They had played three matches together at this tournament already, so they were a little more warmed up early on than us. They were an aggressive team and we played some very steady tennis against them. Loïc and Clément stuck to the game plan and played very disciplined. We were in control of the match and then Georgia got on a run and started playing out of their minds. The first four match points that we held, we weren't able to put them away they kept coming back. At the end, we had to win the match point on a deuce and it was one of the craziest doubles points I've ever seen in my career. It was a great win for us and we're very glad that we were able to get passed this match."
- On the Thursday's Round of 32 opponents: "Tomorrow, Loïc is taking on a player from Florida and he just needs to play his game. His opponent has a lot of firepower, so he just needs to wait on the right ball to play and be selective. In doubles, we face a team from Princeton. We served the ball really well today and I feel that will be the key."

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