University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, October 19
Baton Rouge, La.
All Day
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
vs
Southern Regionals
Cajuns Have Great First Day At ITA Southern Regionals
10/19/2017 5:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BATON ROUGE, La. – On the first day of the 2017 ITA Southern Regionals the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's tennis team had a solid day going 5-1, sending three Cajuns into the finals of the ITA qualifying portion of the brackets.
Junior Arthur Libaud and sophomores Jamie Fraser and Elio Lago all won at least one match on the day to advance to the finals taking place on Friday at 9 a.m. Sophomore Pierce Gilheany won his first-round match but fell in the second round.
HOW IT HAPPENED (First Round): Lago entered the qualifying bracket with a ninth seed and he took on Troy's Shaaz Peerani in his first-round matchup. Lago handled his Sun Belt Conference opponent in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 to punch his ticket to the second round.
Gilheany was matched up with New Orleans' Giacomo Adonececchi, winning in straight sets 7-5, 6-1. After holding off Adonececchi near the end of the first set, Gilheany shut down his foe in the second set to pull off the win and move onto the second round.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Second Round): Fraser, had a first-round bye, having been seeded fifth entering the weekend, and his second-round opponent was decided on results from the first round. He was matched up with Jacksonville State's Aljaz Kaplja after Kaplja won his first-round matchup in straight sets. Fraser found himself in a battle with Kaplja, going the distance and playing three sets.
Fraser outlasted Kaplja in the first set, 7-6 (10-8) but he dropped the second set 4-6 to set up a third-set showdown. In that third set, Fraser dug deep and came away with a close but hard fought victory, winning the third set 7-5, to take the match 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-5.
Libaud, facing the same situation as Fraser, was matched up with LSU's Stewart Block, after Block battled through three sets in his first-round matchup. Libaud didn't let his match become a battle and he made sure to keep distance between himself and Block, taking the match in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to head into the finals.
Lago took on Mikhail Esipov from Southern Miss., and Lago continued riding the momentum he created in his first-round matchup taking down Esipov in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 to head into Friday's finals.
Gilheany faced off against Samford's Justin Ghavami in his second-round match up. Gilheany put up a fight, but he fell in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.
UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: Tomorrow, starting at 9 a.m., the finals for the qualifying will be played. Louisiana has three men still in the mix as Libaud will face Tulane's Eric Wagner, Fraser will take on LSU's Julian Saborio and Lago will matchup with Guillermo Agost from Jacksonville State.
The Cajuns will begin their doubles portion of the weekend as well, with two matches in the first round starting at 4 p.m. Lago and Gilheany will take on Ole Miss' Cotter Wilson and Grey Hamilton, while Fraser and Libaud will face UAB's Kenton Parton and Anru Fourie.
FOLLOWING THE CAJUNS: Follow @RaginCajunsMT for updates as the qualifying singles come to an end, and a link to the day's recap will be posted there as well.
2017 ITA Southern Regional
October 19-22 at Baton Rouge, La. (LSU Tennis Complex)
Thursday Oct. 19
Singles Qualifying First Round
Pierce Gilheany (UL) def. Giacomo Adonececchi (UNO) 7-5, 6-1
Elio Lago (UL) def. Shaaz Peerani (Troy) 6-0, 6-2
Singles Qualifying Second Round
Jamie Fraser (UL) def. Aljaz Kaplja (Jacksonville State) 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-5
Arthur Libaud (UL) def. Stewart Block (LSU) 6-3, 6-2
Lago (UL) def. Mikhail Esipov (Southern Miss.) 6-0, 6-2
Justin Ghavami (Samford) def. Gilheany (UL) 6-3, 6-4
Junior Arthur Libaud and sophomores Jamie Fraser and Elio Lago all won at least one match on the day to advance to the finals taking place on Friday at 9 a.m. Sophomore Pierce Gilheany won his first-round match but fell in the second round.
HOW IT HAPPENED (First Round): Lago entered the qualifying bracket with a ninth seed and he took on Troy's Shaaz Peerani in his first-round matchup. Lago handled his Sun Belt Conference opponent in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 to punch his ticket to the second round.
Gilheany was matched up with New Orleans' Giacomo Adonececchi, winning in straight sets 7-5, 6-1. After holding off Adonececchi near the end of the first set, Gilheany shut down his foe in the second set to pull off the win and move onto the second round.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Second Round): Fraser, had a first-round bye, having been seeded fifth entering the weekend, and his second-round opponent was decided on results from the first round. He was matched up with Jacksonville State's Aljaz Kaplja after Kaplja won his first-round matchup in straight sets. Fraser found himself in a battle with Kaplja, going the distance and playing three sets.
Fraser outlasted Kaplja in the first set, 7-6 (10-8) but he dropped the second set 4-6 to set up a third-set showdown. In that third set, Fraser dug deep and came away with a close but hard fought victory, winning the third set 7-5, to take the match 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-5.
Libaud, facing the same situation as Fraser, was matched up with LSU's Stewart Block, after Block battled through three sets in his first-round matchup. Libaud didn't let his match become a battle and he made sure to keep distance between himself and Block, taking the match in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to head into the finals.
Lago took on Mikhail Esipov from Southern Miss., and Lago continued riding the momentum he created in his first-round matchup taking down Esipov in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 to head into Friday's finals.
Gilheany faced off against Samford's Justin Ghavami in his second-round match up. Gilheany put up a fight, but he fell in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.
UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: Tomorrow, starting at 9 a.m., the finals for the qualifying will be played. Louisiana has three men still in the mix as Libaud will face Tulane's Eric Wagner, Fraser will take on LSU's Julian Saborio and Lago will matchup with Guillermo Agost from Jacksonville State.
The Cajuns will begin their doubles portion of the weekend as well, with two matches in the first round starting at 4 p.m. Lago and Gilheany will take on Ole Miss' Cotter Wilson and Grey Hamilton, while Fraser and Libaud will face UAB's Kenton Parton and Anru Fourie.
FOLLOWING THE CAJUNS: Follow @RaginCajunsMT for updates as the qualifying singles come to an end, and a link to the day's recap will be posted there as well.
2017 ITA Southern Regional
October 19-22 at Baton Rouge, La. (LSU Tennis Complex)
Thursday Oct. 19
Singles Qualifying First Round
Pierce Gilheany (UL) def. Giacomo Adonececchi (UNO) 7-5, 6-1
Elio Lago (UL) def. Shaaz Peerani (Troy) 6-0, 6-2
Singles Qualifying Second Round
Jamie Fraser (UL) def. Aljaz Kaplja (Jacksonville State) 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-5
Arthur Libaud (UL) def. Stewart Block (LSU) 6-3, 6-2
Lago (UL) def. Mikhail Esipov (Southern Miss.) 6-0, 6-2
Justin Ghavami (Samford) def. Gilheany (UL) 6-3, 6-4
#GEAUXCAJUNS
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Tennis
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