Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's tennis to compete in ITA Central Regional tournament
10/08/2014 | 12:00:00 | Men's Tennis
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
NORMAN, Okla. - The Saluki men's tennis team continues its fall season this week at the ITA Central Regional tournament in Norman, Okla. After coming off extremely tough competition at the ITA All-American tournament, the Salukis are prepared to play hard against tough opponents this week.
"The ITA All-American was probably the toughest tournament in the country, but this one is against teams in our region and they're very competitive as well," head coach Dann Nelson said.
SIU will take six players to compete at this week's meet - junior Jonny Rigby, senior Szymon Opieczonek, sophomore Michal Kianicka and freshmen Daniel Martinez, Alex Pozo and Aidan Saggers. Rigby will compete in the main draw, while the other five will play in the qualifying rounds in attempts to join Rigby.
Two weeks ago at the ITA All-American tournament, Rigby advanced to Round Three after winning his opening round pre-qualifying match. Coming off a successful bout in Tulsa, the hope and expectation is that Rigby - along with his teammates - will come out with a win once again.
"He'll have previous wins from last season over guys in the main draw, so I think the goal would be for him to win a few rounds in the main draw. We want at least one of our other guys to qualify for the main draw as well," Nelson said.
The Salukis will have strong representation in doubles this week as the duo of Rigby and Kianicka return determined to win. Last year the pair won two rounds to advance to the top 16.
"They feel like they have something to prove in doubles. Last year one of Drake's teams won the entire thing in doubles, and our team was undefeated in the Valley, so we feel like if they can do it then we can do it," Nelson said.
Play begins at the University of Oklahoma on Thursday and will continue until Monday, depending on how far the Salukis advance. Follow Division I Central region results here.
Players Mentioned
