TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Four LSU men’s tennis players advance to the Qualifying Round of 32 on the first day of the ITA Southern Regional at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. 

Qualifying Round of 128

Will Cubitt kicked the regional off for the Tigers, going against Kristofer Jackson of Alabama State. Jackson won the match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. 

Qualifying Round of 64

Veteran Tiger, Nick Watson faced Javier Montoya of South Alabama. Watson fought hard, but Montoya took the win in a tie breaker, 6(5)-7. In set two, Montoya took the match with a 5-7 win. 

George Stoupe went against Saheb Sodhi of South Alabama. Stoupe won the match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. 

Next, Ben Koch went against Dakotah Bobo of Southern Mississippi for a tie breaking battle. Set one was a close match but eventually went to Koch, 7-6(6). The Tiger fell in set two 3-6, but took the match in the ten point tiebreaker 10-5. 

Benjamin Ambrosio took the court against Francisco Erramuspe of Troy. Ambrosio took set one 6-1 before going on to secure the match 7-6(5) in set two. 

Lastly, Stefan Latinovic faced Athanasios Spyropoulos of UAB. Latinovic took the match in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. 

Up Next 

Four Tigers will advance to compete in the third and fourth round of Qualifying singles. Koch will go against Noah Malige (UAB) at 9:00 a.m. Stoupe will compete against William Ribero (Louisiana) also at 9:00 a.m. Latinovic will face Antoine Audrain (Southern Mississippi) at 11:00 a.m. A few courts over, Benjamin Ambrosio will go against Joao Ferreira (Alabama) at 11:00 a.m. 

Qualifying doubles will begin tomorrow. No. 53 duo Hotard and Penzlin are the No. 3 seed in the regional and will receive a first round bye. Ronnie Hohmann and Stoupe will face Chetanna Amadike and Yin Chih Lan (Alabama A&M) at 3:00 p.m. Cubitt and Ambrosio will compete against Vanja Dobrnjac and Lucius Soller (Jacksonville State) at 3:00 p.m. Chen Dong and Koch will take on Sebastien Collard and Maxime St-Hilaire (South Alabama) at 4:00 p.m. Latinovic and Watson will compete against Vence Ntcha and Divesh Gahlot (Alabama A&M) at 6:00 p.m.

No. 14 Hohmann, Hotard, Dong and Penzlin will all enter the Main Draw of the singles competition on Saturday, Oct. 15. 

For up-to-date information and behind-the-scenes access on the Tigers, follow the LSU men’s tennis team on Twitter and Instagram at @LSUTennis and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lsutennis.

Schedule
Thu, Oct 13 – First and Second round of Qualifying Singles
Fri, Oct 14 – Third & Fourth round of Qualifying Singles, First round Doubles
Sat, Oct 15 – First & Second round Main Draw Singles, Second round Doubles
Sun, Oct 16 – Round of 16 & Quarter Finals Doubles, Round of 16 Singles
Mon, Oct 17 – Quarter Finals & Semi Finals Singles, Semi Finals Doubles
Tue, Oct 18 – Singles & Doubles Finals

Qualifying Round of 128
Kristofer Jackson (Alabama State) def. Will Cubitt (LSU) 6-3, 6-2

Qualifying Round of 64
Javier Montoya (South Alabama) def. Nick Watson (LSU) 6(5)-7, 5-7
George Stoupe (LSU) def. Saheb Sodhi (Southern Miss) 6-3, 6-2
Ben Koch (LSU) def. Dakotah Bobo (Southern Miss) 7-6(6), 3-6, 10-3
Benjamin Ambrosio (LSU) def. Francisco Erramuspe (Troy) 6-1, 7-6(5)
Stefan Latinovic (LSU) def. Athanasios Spyropoulos (UAB) 6-3, 7-5