Men’sTennis: Lago Reaches Round Of 32 At ITA Southern Regionals

BATON ROUGE, La. – Ragin’ Cajuns sophomore Elio Lago won both of his matches to move into the main draw round of 32 to lead the way for Louisiana’s men’s tennis team in the second day of the 2017 ITA Southern Regionals at LSU.
           
The doubles partners of Lago and sophomore Pierce Gilheany along with junior Arthur Libaud and sophomore Jamie Fraser both moved into the round of 32 in the doubles main draw, putting the Cajuns in a good place to finish strong over the weekend.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Qualifying Finals): Lago took on Jacksonville State’s Guillermo Agost and he took care of business in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 to move into the main draw’s round of 64.
           
Libaud joined his Cajuns teammate in the main draw round of 64 with a 6-4, 6-2 straight set win against Tulane’s Eric Wagner, giving the Cajuns two men in the main draw after they fought through the qualifying portion of the tournament.

Fraser’s match against LSU’s Julian Saborio, while it didn’t go three sets, was still a long battle.  Both sets went to the tiebreaker and Fraser didn’t go down quietly.  But in the end Saborio pulled ahead in both breakers to win the match 7-6(4), 7-6(12).

HOW IT HAPPENED (Main Draw Round Of 64): Lago continued to roll through his competition, taking down Auburn’s Olle Thestrup in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 for his second win on the day and it placed him into Saturday’s round of 32.
           
Libaud found himself in a three-set battle, and even though he took the first set he fell to Ole Miss’ Zvonimir Babic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to knock him out of the main draw bracket.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Consolation Matches): After losing in his second round qualifying match on Friday, Gilheany took on Aubun’s Alex Rushin in the consolation portion of the tournament.  Gilheany fought for three sets, and even though he won the first set, Gilheany lost the next two sets to lose the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

HOW IT HAPPENED (Doubles Round Of 64): Fraser and Libaud, showing that they are a strong pairing, took on and beat UAB’s Kenton Parton and Anru Fourie 8-2 to head into the round of 32.
           
Lago and Gilheany faced off against Ole Miss’ Cotter Wilson and Grey Hamilton and the Cajuns duo moved on to the round of 32 after a withdraw from the Ole Miss pair.

UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: Lago will take on Ole Miss’ Tim Sandkaulen in the round of 32 starting at 9 a.m. for a chance to move into the round of 16 and one step closer to the quarterfinals.
           
In doubles both Cajuns pairs will take the court in that bracket’s round of 32.  Lago and Gilheany will face off against Auburn’s Carles Sarrio and Diego Chavarria while Fraser and Libaud are matched up with Nicholls’ Sasha Podgrusky and Val Guyot with both matches starting at 5 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE CAJUNS: Follow @RaginCajunsMT on twitter to stay up to date with what the Cajuns are doing during Saturday’s action. 

2017 ITA Southern Regional
October 19-22 at Baton Rouge, La. (LSU Tennis Complex)
Friday, Oct. 20
Singles Qualifying Finals
Elio Lago (UL) def. Guillermo Agost (Jacksonville State) 6-2, 6-0
Arthur Libaud (UL) def. Eric Wagner (Tulane) 6-4, 6-2
Julian Saborio (LSU) def. Jamie Fraser (UL) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (12)
Singles Main Draw Round Of 64
Lago (UL) def. Olle Thestrup (Auburn) 6-0, 6-4
Zvonimie Babic (Ole Miss) def. Libaud (UL) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Singles Consolation
Alex Rushin (Auburn) def. Pierce Gilheany (UL) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles Round Of 64
Fraser/Libaud (UL) def. Parton/Fourie (UAB) 8-2
Lago/Gilheany (UL) def. Wilson/Hamilton (Ole Miss) W/O