By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team heads west for the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships, kicking off action Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the University of Tulsa campus and Case Tennis Center at LaFortune Park in Tulsa, Okla. Draws will commence at 8 a.m. CT.
With inclement weather expected in the area, play will also be conducted in Stillwater, Okla. at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
The tournament is set to begin with pre-qualifying draws on Oct. 5 and 6 before advancing to qualifying play (Oct. 7-8). The main draw opens Oct. 9 and concludes with the singles and doubles finals on Oct. 13.
Four different Golden Eagles will take part in singles action, with sophomore Carlos Vicente leading things off at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. He will match up against Abilene Christian's Savan Chhabra in the first round of pre-qualifying, competing for a chance to play again at 12:30 p.m. against the winner between Jochen Bertsch of Oklahoma and Tom Cecchetto of Southern Miss.
At 10:00 a.m., Riku Kubota will begin his run in the event, slated to take on Akram El Sallaly from Pacific University. Should the Tech junior win, he will advance to a 2:30 p.m. affair against the winner of North Carolina's Ladd Harrison and Liberty's Chase Burton.
Next on the schedule among Tech's participants is sophomore Rafael Tosetto. The youngster will take on Omaha's Davis Lawley at 10:30 a.m. Pending a victory, he would advance to a 4:00 p.m. match against either Michael Smith of SMU or David Stevenson of Memphis.
Rounding out the Golden Eagle lineup headed west is sophomore Elias Grubert. Squaring off against Wisconsin's Chase Colton at 12:30 p.m., he will look to advance to a 4 p.m. second-round tilt. He would be met by the victor between Pacific's Ross Watson and Texas A&M's Stefan Storch.
Photo by Tony Marable