Cowboys Commence Play At ITA All-American Championships

Saturday, October 1

Tulsa, Okla.

All Day

Oklahoma State University

ITA All-American

October 01, 2016 | Cowboy Tennis

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State men's tennis concluded the first two rounds of pre-qualifying play at the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships on Saturday, where freshman Mathieu Scaglia picked up the fourth win of his young career.

Matched up with Middle Tennessee State's Tom Moonen, Scaglia had to battle back into the match after dropping the first set. Despite falling behind early on, Scaglia would compose himself and cruised through the final two sets to defeat Moonen, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0. The three-set victory brought Scaglia's singles winning streak to four as the Frejus, France native continues to settle in during his freshman campaign.

Scaglia put his streak on the line in the second round of pre-qualifying competition when he faced off against Texas' Rodrigo Banzer. The young Cowboy came up just short as Banzer knocked off Scaglia in straight sets, 7-6 (0), 6-3, to bring Scaglia's winning streak to an end.

OSU's second competitor in pre-qualifying action, Nathan Roper, suffered another tough defeat as he dropped his matchup with Eastern Washington's Robert Dula, 6-0, 6-2. Roper's weekend will continue play tomorrow when the Edmond, Oklahoma native takes on Barnabas Kancz of Oral Roberts in the consolation bracket. His match is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. and will be played at Union High School.

Roper will be the only Cowboy competing in Tulsa tomorrow as play continues with the second day of pre-qualifying competition, followed by qualifying rounds which begin on Monday. The main draw is slated to begin on October 6.

Lukas Finzelberg, Lucas Gerch, Arjun Kadhe, Jurence Mendoza and Tristan Meraut are all slated to compete in the qualifying rounds, while Julian Cash earned an automatic bid into the main draw based on his coming in at No. 29 in the September 13 edition of the ITA Rankings. In the doubles draw, OSU will field three teams in competition, including the top-seeded and top-ranked tandem of Cash and Kadhe.

Oklahoma State Results
Round of 256:
Mathieu Scaglia (OSU) def. Tom Moonen (MTSU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
Robert Dula (EWU) def. Nathan Roper (OSU), 6-0, 6-2

Round of 128:
Rodrigo Banzer (TEX) def. Mathieu Scaglia (OSU), 6-2, 6-4