Men's Tennis Snags Four First-Round Wins Thursday at ITA Regionals

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Beginning first-round play Thursday at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Ohio Valley Regional Championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Belmont University men's tennis team claimed three singles victories and a doubles win. Senior Tomas Luis, junior Ian Cruz and senior Alfred Wallin all won their opening round singles matches, while the seeded tandem of Wallin and Cruz were victorious in convincing fashion in the first round of doubles action at the Champions Club Tennis Complex at Rivermont Park.
 
Getting the day started, Wallin and Cruz defeated Austin Peay's Sota Minami and Aeneas Schaub 8-4 in the round of 64. The duo will start Friday morning's play at 8 a.m. CT versus Memphis' Mika Berghaus and Moritz Kudernatsch in the second round.
 
In the round of 128 in singles, Luis got past the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Kristof Kincses after dropping the opening set in a tiebreaker. Luis won sets two and three dominantly 6-1, 6-2. Also prevailing in three sets in his first-round singles match, Cruz topped Indiana's Luc Boulier after falling in an opening set tiebreak. Cruz bounced back by taking the second set 7-5 before finishing the match at 6-4 in the third.
 
Fourteenth-seeded Wallin lost only two games in a 6-0, 6-2 rout of Eastern Kentucky's Kristoffer Stahlbrand.
 
Wallin will see Butler's Borja Miralles in the second round Friday, while Luis will take on a fellow Horizon League player in Tennessee State's Taj Hibbert. Cruz will go up against Middle Tennessee State University's Igor Mandou Berranger Friday in the round of 64.
 
Senior Niklas von Hellens and juniors Gabriel Sardo, Diego Castro and Ruben Busch are all in the singles consolation bracket, which will get underway Friday.
 
The pair of Sardo and Busch narrowly fell in a tiebreaker in the opening round of doubles Thursday and will take on the consolation bracket late Friday, along with the team of Luis and Castro.
 
2023 ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships – Thursday's Results/Friday's Matchups

Doubles
R64 – No. 9 Alfred Wallin/Ian Cruz (Belmont) def. Sota Minami/Aeneas Schaub (Austin Peay) 8-4
R64 – Juan Lombisano/Facundo Perlov (Lipscomb) def. Gabriel Sardo/Ruben Busch (Belmont) 8-7 (3)
R64 – Nathan Cox/Jeremie Casabon (Vanderbilt) def. Tomas Luis/Diego Castro (Belmont) 8-4
R32 – No. 9 Alfred Wallin/Ian Cruz (Belmont) vs. Mika Berghaus/Moritz Kudernatsch (Memphis) – 8 a.m. CT Friday
Consolation R32-Q – Gabriel Sardo/Ruben Busch (Belmont) vs. Sam Reeve/Pau Fanlo (Memphis) – 4 p.m. CT Friday
Consolation R32-Q – Tomas Luis/Diego Castro (Belmont) vs. Moritz Mayer/Paul-Antoine Brazet (Eastern Kentucky) – 4:30 p.m. CT Friday
 
Singles
R128 – No. 17 Juan Lopez De Azcona (Vanderbilt) def. Niklas von Hellens (Belmont) 6-4, 6-2
R128 – No. 17 Tomas Luis (Belmont) def. Kristof Kincses (Chattanooga) 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-2
R128 – No. 17 Ian Cruz (Belmont) def. Luc Boulier (Indiana) 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4
R128 – No. 16 Javier Cueto Ramos (MTSU) def. Gabriel Sardo (Belmont) 7-5, 6-3
R128 – Miguel Avendano Cadena (Louisville) def. Diego Castro (Belmont) 5-7, 7-5, 7-5
R128 – No. 14 Alfred Wallin (Belmont) def. Kristoffer Stahlbrand (Eastern Kentucky) 6-0, 6-2
R128 – Matt DeMarco (Dayton) def. Ruben Busch (Belmont) 7-6 (4), 6-1
R64 – No. 17 Tomas Luis (Belmont) vs. Taj Hibbert (Tennessee State) – 10 a.m. CT Friday
R64 – No. 17 Ian Cruz (Belmont) vs. Igor Mandou Berranger (MTSU) – 10 a.m. CT Friday
R64 – No. 14 Alfred Wallin (Belmont) vs. Borja Miralles – 11:30 a.m. CT Friday
Consolation R64-Q – Niklas von Hellens (Belmont) vs. Adam Nagoudi (ETSU) – 11:30 a.m. CT Friday
Consolation R64-Q – Gabriel Sardo (Belmont) vs. Vineet Ramesh (Bellarmine) – 1 p.m. CT Friday
Consolation R64-Q – Diego Castro (Belmont) vs. No. 17 Filip Apltauer (Tennessee) – 10 a.m. CT Friday
Consolation R64-Q – Ruben Busch (Belmont) vs. Mason Tran (Ball State) – 2:30 p.m. CT Friday
 
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