Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
Louisiana-Lafayette Invitational
Men's tennis finishes play in Louisiana-Lafayette Invitational
09/21/2008 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
Sept. 21, 2008
By Megan Kramper
www.SIUSalukis.com
Lafayette, La. - The SIU men's tennis team competed in the Louisiana-Lafayette Invitational over the weekend with four Salukis taking on tough competition in their first tournament of the fall.
Competing against schools including Louisiana State, Memphis, and University of Mississippi, Head Coach Dann Nelson said while no individual championships were won, the experience will help them as they prepare to compete in both the ITA All-American and MVC Individuals in October.
"It's going to help us when we go to the (ITA) All-American next and it's the best players in the country," Nelson said. "We can kind of use this as a learning experience."
Eric West was defeated by Leon Nasemann of Memphis 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of Flight A while Sebastian Rubiano advanced to the quarterfinals of Flight B before falling to the Andre Pool of Ole Miss.
"I'm pretty happy with the way Sebastian played because he sprained his ankle close to the end of his second match and was able to fight through it and win his match," Nelson said.
Anton Leonenko was defeated in the second round by Markus Wessinghage of Ole Miss, 7-6, 0-6, 6-1 and Hugo Vidal also advanced to the second round before losing to KC Griffin of Memphis.
Rain suspended the doubles play during the weekend and no champion was announced.
The Salukis will next be in action on Oct. 4 when they compete in the ITA All-American in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Players Mentioned
