Bruins Start ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships on High Note

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Beginning its weekend stay in West Lafayette, Indiana, for the 2024 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Ohio Valley Regional Championships, the Belmont University men's tennis team turned in six singles wins and a strong doubles performance Thursday.
 
Graduate Niklas von Hellens and junior Sabi Roi both qualified for the singles main draw on day one of the regional championships, while junior Eli Mizerski and freshman Morgan Woodson earned a decisive doubles victory against a Vanderbilt tandem. Despite dropping his second round singles match, Mizerski also got into the singles main draw due to a player having to withdraw.
 
"Singles play was a pretty solid effort; to win all our first rounds and get a few guys through was important," commented head coach Jeff Cero. "I thought the guys showed improvement from the work they did off our last tournament a few weeks ago."
 
In opening round singles action, freshman Charlie Robin, von Hellens, Roi and Mizerski all got past their opponents without dropping a set. Mizerski and Roi barely even gave up a game in their wins.
 
Seeded 14th in the bracket, Roi defeated Louisville's Russell Lokko 6-3, 6-1 to reach the main draw as von Hellens topped Butler's Riccardo Baldi 6-0 in the first set and 7-4 in a second-set tiebreaker.
 
Robin nearly took out Indiana's Deacon Thomas, the No. 6 seed in the bracket, in the second round but fell 6-3 in the third set.
 
"Doubles was better, and I thought we put ourselves in a great spot to close out all the matches but missed a few opportunities to finish that came back to get us in the end," added coach Cero. "Morgan and Eli did a good job holding serve all the way through and playing a complete match. I'm excited for them to build off it tomorrow."
 
In the first round of doubles, Mizerski and Woodson defeated the Commodores' Oscar Oberoi and Jack Ingram 8-5. The duo will face Middle Tennessee State University's ninth-seeded Shu Matsuoka and Jakub Kroslak Friday morning at 8 a.m. CT/9 a.m. ET in the round of 32.
 
Robin and junior Esunge Ndumbe were edged in a tiebreaker against Bellarmine's Jack Batchelor and Matthew Nice, while Roi and von Hellens also had a lead on Purdue's Mujtaba Ali-Khan and Nour Fathalla before being dismissed.
 
Ndumbe, von Hellens and Mizerski begin their main draw first round singles matches Friday at 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET. Roi's main draw match Friday is set to start at 12:45 p.m. CT/1:45 p.m. ET.
 
The Bruins' complete match results from Thursday can be found below.
 
Doubles
R64 – Eli Mizerski/Morgan Woodson (Belmont) def. Oscar Oberoi/Jack Ingram (Vanderbilt), 8-5
R64 – Mujtaba Ali-Khan/Nour Fathalla (Purdue) def. Sabi Roi/Niklas von Hellens (Belmont), 8-6
R64 – Jack Batchelor/Matthew Nice (Bellarmine) def. Charlie Robin/Esunge Ndumbe (Belmont), 8-7 (1)
 
Singles
Q64 – Charlie Robin (Belmont) def. Broc Fletcher (Ball State), 6-2, 6-4
Q64 – Niklas von Hellens (Belmont) def. Aeneas Schaub (Austin Peay), 6-2, 6-3
Q64 – (14) Sabi Roi (Belmont) def. Quinten Gillespie (Southern Indiana), 6-0, 6-4
Q64 – Eli Mizerski (Belmont) def. Eli Wood (Bellarmine), 6-0, 1-0 (retired)
Q32 – (6) Deacon Thomas (Indiana) def. Charlie Robin (Belmont), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Q32 – Niklas von Hellens (Belmont) def. Riccardo Baldi (Butler), 6-0, 7-6 (4)
Q32 – (14) Sabi Roi (Belmont) def. Russell Lokko (Louisville), 6-3, 6-2
Q32 – Ryan Mudre (Chattanooga) def. Eli Mizerski (Belmont), 6-2, 6-1
 
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