Men’s Tennis: Lago Picks Up Pair Of Wins At USTA Futures Professional Event

 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s tennis player Elio Lago picked up a pair of victories while advancing to the final round of qualifying at the USTA Futures of Champaign-Urbana Professional Event last weekend.
 
Lago, who will be a sophomore at Louisiana in 2017-18, opened play with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Henry Britton of Great Britain in the first round of qualifying on Saturday before earning a three-set 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (3) win over Canada’s Stefan Frljanic, ranked No. 1992 in the ATP rankings, in the second round on Sunday.
 
"Elio showed great strides toward the end of the season," Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Mark Jeffrey said. "He really showed us all how much he improved. With this latest result, Elio has stepped up again and proven that he is capable of playing in the top of our lineup. 
 
"These results bode very well for his fall campaign coming up next month. Elio is a hard worker, so I am very happy for him to see him get these results and continue to improve."
 
The Brazilian native reached the final round of qualifying before dropping a 7-5, 6-3 decision to Jonathan Chang, ranked No. 1089 in the ATP rankings and a former No. 1 singles player at Rice.
 
Lago and the Ragin’ Cajuns will open the 2017-18 season Sept. 22-24 hosting the John Breaux Cajun Tennis Classic at the Culotta Tennis Center. The Ragin’ Cajuns will host seven teams that finished in the final 2016-17 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, including Texas (No. 11), Oklahoma State (No. 15) and LSU (No. 61).