AUBURN, Ala.— Newly formed doubles pair Julian Saborio and Gabor Csonka defeated the 19th-ranked and second seeded Mate Cutura and Hunter Vaughn of Mississippi State, and in singles the Tigers took eight of nine matches to round out the first day at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in the ITA Southern Regional.
The Tigers continue in Day 2 of the ITA Southern Regional Saturday beginning at 8:30 a.m. CT with six players advancing to the round of 32 in singles, and Saborio and Csonka are slated to compete in the doubles round of 16.
“We had a solid first day winning eight out of nine singles matches, advancing six players to the final 32, and we had two nice doubles wins for our first time pair of Gabor and Julian,” head coach Jeff Brown said. “Things get more challenging tomorrow as we face tough matchups across the bracket.”
To get the day started, Csonka and Saborio defeated Louisiana-Lafayette’s Eric Perez and Coleman Wahlborg, 8-4, advancing them into the round of 32 where the duo collected its first win against a ranked opponent.
In the singles round of 128, both Nikola Samardzic and Saborio dropped their first sets but fought back to take the matches and continue play in the round of 64. Samardzic defeated Tulane’s Luis Erlenbusch, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, and Saborio took the 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win against Jacksonville State’s Matthew Chaim.
After having a first round bye, No. 35 Jordan Daigle, No. 48 Justin Butsch, No. 125 Gabor Csonka, Agie Moreno and Rafael Wagner each secured a victory in the round of 64.
Daigle took the first set against Clement Marzol of South Alabama, 6-3, and dropped the second set 2-6, but the senior fought back to take the match with a 7-5 third set and advance to the round of 32.
No. 48 Justin Butsch was victorious against Troy’s Gabriel Niculescu as he took a straight set 6-2, 6-1 win, and No. 125 Gabor Csonka defeated Tulane’s Eric Wagner, 6-1, 6-4.
Freshman Agie Moreno also had a first round bye and was dominant in his 6-4, 6-0 win against Jacksonville State’s Andreas Gomez, and fellow freshman Rafael Wagner defeated Tulane’s Chase Schupp in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.
Samardzic rounded out the Tiger victories in the round of 64 as he took a hard-fought win against Mississippi State’s Hunter Vaughn, defeating him 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
For up-to-date information and behind-the-scenes access on the Tigers, fans can follow the LSU men’s tennis team on Twitter and Instagram at @lsutennis and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsutennis.
2016 ITA Southern Regional
Oct. 14-17 at Auburn, Ala. (Yarbrough Tennis Center)
Friday, Oct. 14
Singles Round of 128
Julian Saborio (LSU) def. Matthew Chaim (Jacksonville State), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Nikola Samardzic (LSU) def. Luis Erienbusch (Tulane), 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
Singles Round of 64
No. 35 Jordan Daigle (LSU) def. Clement Marzol (South Alabama), 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
No. 48 Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Gabriel Niculescu (Troy), 6-2, 6-1
No. 125 Gabor Csonka (LSU) def. Eric Wagner (Tulane), 6-1, 6-4
Agie Moreno (LSU) def. Andreas Gomez (Jacksonville State), 6-4, 6-0
Nikola Samardzic (LSU) def. Hunter Vaughn (Mississippi State), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Rafael Wagner (LSU) def. Chase Schupp (Tulane), 6-0, 6-1
Mate Cutura (Mississippi State) def. Julian Saborio (LSU), 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Round of 64
Julian Saborio/Gabor Csonka (LSU) def. Eric Perez/Coleman Wahlborg (Lousiana-Lafayette), 8-4
Hassah Ndayishineye/Jiagi Duah (Troy) def. Agie Moreno/Nikola Samardzic (LSU), 8-3
Doubles Round of 32
Julian Saborio/Gabor Csonka (LSU) def. Mate Cutura/Hunter Vaughn (Mississippi State), 9-7
Conner Huertas/Eopy Nguyen (Auburn) def. Justin Butsch/Rafael Wagner (LSU), 8-3
Saturday, Oct. 15
Doubles Round of 16
Julian Saborio/Gabor Csonka (LSU) vs. Tim Sandkaulen/Gustau Hansson (Ole Miss), 8 a.m. CT
Singles Round of 32
#35 Jordan Daigle (LSU) vs. Straninja Rakic (Mississippi State), 12 p.m. CT
#48 Justin Butsch (LSU) vs.Trevor Foshey (Mississippi State), 12 p.m. CT
#105 Gabor Csonka (LSU) vs. Conner Huertas (Auburn), 12 p.m. CT
Nikola Samardzic (LSU) vs. Andy Laer (Troy), 12 p.m. CT
Agie Moreno (LSU) vs. Tuki Jacobs (South Alabama), 12 p.m. CT
Rafael Wagner (LSU) vs. Matt Rossouw (Alabama), 12 p.m. CT
Singles Consolation Second Round
Julian Saborio (LSU) vs. Sam Messen (Nicholls State), 10:30 a.m. CT