Men's Tennis Gears Up for ITA Regionals
10/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Spartans are gearing up for the ITA Regional Championships in Ann Arbor, which begin with singles qualifying on Thursday.
"Next to the (ITA) All-American Championships, this is the biggest fall tournament," head coach Gene Orlando said. "It's to qualify for the national indoor championships."
There will be 21 teams represented, and all will be vying for a spot in the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in November.
Doug Zade, Jasper Koenen, Michael Dube and Mac Roy will compete in the singles qualifying Thursday. As the No. 3 seed in the singles qualifying, Roy is matched up against Sergiu Muresan of Chicago State. Dube, the No. 14 seed, has Cleveland State's Manuel Bellutti in the first round. Zade will face off against Wisconsin-Green Bay's Jorge Gonzalez Soller and Koenen's first round opponent is Louis Phillippe-Hamel of Northern Illinois.
Of the 64 players in the singles qualifying, the top eight will advance to the singles main draw.
John Patrick Mullane, Brett Forman, Harry Jadun and Gijs Linders have all qualified for the singles main draw, with Mullane earning the No. 8 seed. The first round of the main draw for singles will begin on Friday.
Mullane will also participate with Jadun in the doubles main draw, and the duo will compete as the No. 6 seed. Forman and Linders will play in the doubles main draw as well, earning the No. 14 seed. Dube and Roy will also participate in doubles play, with Alexander Kim and Zade rounding out the doubles for Michigan State. The doubles main draw will begin play on Friday.
"We've had two weeks since our last tournament, and we're looking forward to competing," said Orlando. "We're working to improve ourselves, but we'll also use this as an opportunity to measure ourselves against the best in the Midwest. "
The top two players from singles and the champion from the doubles main draw will qualify for the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.
"The team has trained hard, and they are playing with confidence. It should be a good weekend."
For more information on the ITA Regional Championships, visit itatennis.com.
Players Mentioned
