TULSA, Okla.— Senior doubles duo Jordan Daigle and Justin Butsch have advanced to the final round of qualifying and look to push its way into the main draw Tuesday in the ITA Men’s All-American Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
After collecting two wins in the opening day of the doubles competition, second-seeded Daigle and Butsch will face 51st-ranked Texas A&M’s Jordi Arconada and AJ Cantanzariti in Tuesday’s qualifying round of 16.
The No. 28 duo in the nation defeated Chris Fletcher and Julius Tverijonas of George Washington, in a gritty 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (6) match to open the day and continue to the qualifying round of 32. Later in the afternoon, Daigle and Butsch made a statement with a straight-set, 6-3, 6-3 win against Marko Goles-Babic and Sander Gjoels Anderson of San Diego State.
“Justin and Jordan were able to fight to win a tough first round and then dominated in the second round to advance to Tuesday,” head coach Jeff Brown explained.
Butsch and junior Gabor Csonka both competed in the opening round of qualifying singles Monday morning.
Butsch fell in a 7-6 (5), 7-5 contest against Tulsa’s Dominic Bechard, and after taking the opening set, Csonka dropped a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 match against Wake Forest’s Alan Gadjiev.
“We had two tough singles matches for the guys today,” Brown added. “Gabor did a great job of hanging tough, but his opponent had a huge serve which was the difference.”
Daigle is set to begin competition in the singles main draw on Oct. 6.
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 Men’s All-American Championships Qualifying
Oct. 3-4 at Tulsa, Okla. (Case Tennis Center)
Monday, Oct. 3
First Round of Qualifying Singles
Dominic Bechard (Tulsa) def. Justin Butsch (LSU), 7-6 (5), 7-5
Alan Gadjiev (Wake Forest) def. Gabor Csonka (LSU), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Qualifying Doubles Round of 64
No. 28 Jordan Daigle/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Chris Fletcher/Julius Tverijonas (George Washington), 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (6)
Qualifying Doubles Round of 32
No. 28 Jordan Daigle/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Marko Goles-Babic/Sander Gjoels Anderson (San Diego State), 6-3, 6-3
Tuesday, Oct. 4
Qualifying Doubles Round of 16
No. 28 Jordan Daigle/Justin Butsch (LSU) vs. No. 51 Jordi Arconada/AJ Cantanzariti (Texas A&M), after 3 p.m. CT