BATON ROUGE – The LSU men’s tennis team will continue its fall season this weekend by hosting a 15-team field at the ITA Southern Regional from October 19-23 at the LSU Tennis Complex.
The tournament field includes SEC programs Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Also joining the tournament are Jacksonville State, Nicholls State, Samford, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Troy, Tulane, UAB, UL-Lafayette and UNO.
LSU as a Major Tournament Host
The LSU men’s tennis team last hosted the first and second round of the NCAA Championships in May 2009. The ITA Southern Regional marks the first time since the inception of the LSU Tennis Complex that the men will have a major tournament in Baton Rouge. In 2016, the LSU women’s tennis team hosted the SEC Tournament.
About the LSU Tennis Complex
The LSU Tennis Complex features 12 outdoor courts and six indoor courts. Housed inside of the indoor facility are players’ lounges, locker rooms, a cardio room, a satellite training room and coaches’ offices for both the men’s and women’s teams. There is a total of 1,400 seats facing the outdoor courts, and inside the Tigers can host tournaments in front of more than 300 fans. Point-by-point scoring is available through Daktronics scoreboards on all 18 courts within the facility for an enhanced fan experience. Admission to the LSU Tennis Complex is free. The LSU Tennis Complex has a Geaux Clear policy, requiring all fans and spectators to have a clear bag to speed up gate entries and enhance fan safety. Parking for the ITA Southern Regional will be available across from the LSU Tennis Complex at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
Live Stats, Updated Brackets
Live stats will be available for each of Thursday’s qualifiers and the main draw matches throughout the rest of the weekend will be available online at LSUstats.com. For updated tournament brackets, results and other information, fans can go to LSUsports.net/ITASouthernRegional and follow updates on Facebook.com/lsutennis and Twitter @lsutennis.
Brandi’s Corner
“We are excited to host the ITA Southern Regional and continue improving on the things that we work on every day in practice,” co-head coach Chris Brandi said. “It will be a very challenging field for us to compete in, and I am looking forward to watching our team grow throughout the tournament.”
Tigers in Thursday’s Action
The Tigers have three players competing in singles qualifying Thursday. Sophomore Julian Saborio will take on Troy’s Jiaqi Duan at 9 a.m. CT while junior transfer Stewart Block will face the Trojans’ Jorge Poyatos. Sophomore Agie Moreno has notched a first round bye and will compete against either Auburn’s Viboosh Chandresekar or UNO’s Christian Fjeldstad at 1 p.m.
Rafael Wagner and Nikola Samardzic will join the field Friday in the singles main draw round of 64. The Tigers will not compete in doubles competition as both pairs of Agie Moreno and Rafael Wagner and Nikola Samardzic and Julian Saborio have received first round byes. Both pairs will see their first doubles action of the weekend on Satruday.
Social Center
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.
Tournament Schedule
Thursday, October 19
-First Round Singles Qualifying, 9 a.m. CT
-Second Round Singles Qualifying, 1 p.m. CT
Friday, October 20
-Qualifying Finals, 9 a.m. CT
-Singles Round of 64, 1 p.m. CT
-Doubles Round of 64, 4 p.m. CT
Saturday, October 21
-Singles Round of 32, 9 a.m. CT and 10 a.m. CT
-Singles Round of 16, 1 p.m. CT and 2 p.m. CT
-Doubles Round of 32, 5 p.m. CT and 5:30 p.m. CT
Sunday, October 22 and Monday, October 23
TBA
ITA Southern Regional
October 19-22 at Baton Rouge, La. (LSU Tennis Complex)
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Singles Qualifying First Round
Julian Saborio (LSU) vs. Jiaqi Duan (Troy), 9 a.m. CT
Stewart Block (LSU) vs. Jorge Poyatos (Troy), 9 a.m. CT
Singles Qualifying Second Round
Agie Moreno (LSU) vs. Viboosh Chandresekar (Auburn) or Christian Fjeldstad (UNO), 1 p.m. CT
Friday, October 20, 2017
Singles Main Draw Round of 64
Rafael Wagner (LSU) vs. Eduardo Lourido (Samford), 1 p.m. CT
Nikola Samardzic (LSU) vs. Qualifier, 1 p.m. CT
Doubles Main Draw Round of 32
Rafael Wagner/Agie Moreno (LSU) vs. Jiaqi Duan/Pelayo Antuna (Troy) or Edson Ortiz/She Zhou (Alabama), 5 p.m. CT
Nikola Samardzic/Julian Saborio (LSU) vs. Shaaz Peerani/Jorge Poyatos (Troy), 5 p.m. CT