Bruins Conclude Play at ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships Friday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Despite five match wins in singles Friday, the Belmont University men's tennis team's run at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Ohio Valley Regional Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, came to an end. Four Bruins advanced to the round of 32 in the main draw of singles, but none could get to the round of 16 after Belmont was swept in doubles play Friday morning.
 
Graduate student Marko Ilic, junior Alfred Wallin, sophomore Ian Cruz and junior Riccardo Trione all earned second round singles victories, while senior Jack Randall claimed a match win in the first round of the consolation bracket.
 
The duo of Wallin and Randall came the closest to advancing to the round of 16 in the morning's doubles action, but ultimately fell 8-6 to Kentucky's Alexandre LeBlanc and JJ Mercer.
 
Ilic, Wallin and Trione were convincing in their round of 64 match wins as each won in straight sets. Trione took out Southern Indiana's Alfrendo Vogelaar 6-1, 6-0, while Ilic ousted Bellarmine's Jack Batchelor 6-3, 6-2. Wallin was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over the Knights' Kyle Tang.
 
Cruz defeated David Mizrahi of tournament host Louisville with first and third set wins of 6-3, despite dropping the second set, 6-1.
 
Both Ilic and Trione nearly got past their round of 32 opponents with Ilic taking Middle Tennessee's Francisco Rocha to three sets. Ilic took a set lead with a 6-4 opening set win but dropped consecutive sets, 6-4 and 6-3. After a 6-4 first set loss, Trione battled Purdue's Daniel Labrador in a second set tiebreaker that went the Boilermaker's way, 7-4.
 
In the round of 64 of the consolation singles bracket, Randall recovered from a 6-3 opening set loss to Lipscomb's Luka Stojanovic by winning the second set 6-0 and taking the super tiebreaker, 10-6. Sophomore Gabriel Sardo came within a couple points of extending his first round back draw match with Tennessee Tech's Jaime Paquet in a 7-5 second set breaker.
 
2022 ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships – Friday's Results

Doubles
R32 – David Mizrahi/Will Mayew (Louisville) def. Marko Ilic/Tomas Luis (Belmont) 8-4
R32 – Matthew Fung/Sergio Hernandez (Louisville) def. Ian Cruz/Riccardo Trione (Belmont) 8-1
R32 – Alexandre LeBlanc/JJ Mercer (Kentucky) def. Alfred Wallin/Jack Randall (Belmont) 8-6
 
Singles
R64 – Marko Ilic (Belmont) def. Jack Batchelor (Bellarmine) 6-3, 6-2
R64 – Alfred Wallin (Belmont) def. Kyle Tang (Bellarmine) 6-4, 6-3
R64 – Ian Cruz (Belmont) def. David Mizrahi (Louisville) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
R64 – Riccardo Trione (Belmont) def. Alfrendo Vogelaar (Southern Indiana) 6-1, 6-0
R64 – Charlelie Cosnet (Kentucky) def. Niklas von Hellens (Belmont) 6-3, 7-5
R64 – Thomas Brennan (Butler) def. Tomas Luis (Belmont) def. 6-3, 6-1
R32 – Francisco Rocha (Middle Tennessee) def. Marko Ilic (Belmont) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
R32 – Matthew Fung (Louisville) def. Alfred Wallin (Belmont) 6-3, 6-3
R32 – Pablo Alemany (Memphis) def. Ian Cruz (Belmont) 6-2, 6-0
R32 – Daniel Labrador (Purdue) def. Riccardo Trione (Belmont) 6-4, 7-6 (4)
Consolation R64 – Jack Randall (Belmont) def. Luka Stojanovic (Lipscomb) 3-6, 6-0, 1-0 (10-6)
Consolation R64 – Jaime Paquet (Tennessee Tech) def. Gabriel Sardo (Belmont) 6-3, 7-6 (5)
Consolation R32 – Kristof Kincses (Chattanooga) def. Jack Randall (Belmont) by walkover
 
Up Next
The Bruins will have three weeks off from tournament play before wrapping up their fall schedule Friday-Sunday, Nov. 4-6 at Samford University's CCB Collegiate Invitational at the Pat M. Courington Tennis Pavilion in Birmingham, Alabama.
 
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