OU Wins Five on First Day of Cajun Classic

LAFAYETTE, La. – The Oklahoma men's tennis team picked up five wins on the first day of play at the 2015 Cajun Tennis Classic hosted by the University of Louisiana.

“I think the guys played really well,” assistant coach Bobby Reynolds said. “Obviously it's their first tournament of the year and their first few matches so they are trying to work some of the things we do in practice into their game. They fought through two matches on the day and played well.”

Alex Ghilea led the way for the Sooners on Thursday. The junior picked up a pair of wins on a hot day that tested players' stamina.

In the first round, Ghilea topped Eric Perez of Louisiana 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to advance to the round of 16. In the afternoon session, he bested Vinod Gowda of Ole Miss, 6-4, 6-3 despite falling behind 0-3 in the second set. Ghilea was able to run off six consecutive games to take the second frame and win the match.

He is such a physical player, and he puts the guys through so much movement that even if it takes three sets like it did in the morning—by the third set he has raised his game while the other guys look like they are tired.
Assistant Coach Bobby Reynolds

“He came out hot in both matches,” Reynolds said. “He dictated a lot with his forehand. He is such a physical player, and he puts the guys through so much movement that even if it takes three sets like it did in the morning—by the third set he has raised his game while the other guys look like they are tired.”

Spencer Papa saw split results despite strong play on the first day of singles. Papa dropped his first round match with Boris Arias of LSU in three sets, despite only losing serve once, but rebounded with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Coleman Wahlborg in the consolation draw.

“Spencer played well,” Reynolds said. “It was a battle both ways with Arias. You wont see too many times where you lose a match and only lose serve once. He held his head up high and was able to bounce back in the second match. He will be ready to go again tomorrow.”

Austin Siegel started his tournament with a win in the opening round. The senior topped Gerardo Lopez of TCU in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

“Austin played great,” Reynolds said. “He played a big server, a guy who was just crushing the ball from the baseline. He was able to defend well and took advantage of the opportunities that he had. He took care of his service games and then put pressure on his opponent over and over again until he got the breaks.”

Siegel stumbled in the second round of play, falling to Jordan Daigle of LSU 3-6, 3-6.

Florin Bragusi went .500 on the day as well. In the first round, the junior jumped out to a one set lead on Simon Freund of LSU, and led by a break in both the second and third sets, but was unable to finish the match. He fell 6-4, 5-7, 3-6. Bragusi rebounded well in the consolation draw, topping Thibault Forget of USC in straight sets.

“Florin had a lot of chances in the first match, he really did,” Reynolds said. “Credit to his opponent. The guy never gave up. He made Florin keep playing over and over and over again. That was a tough one for him to lose. He did a great job coming back in the afternoon and I don't think he was broken in the whole match. He played a clean match against a really good player from USC.”

The Sooners are back in action tomorrow morning as play continues in the singles draws and doubles play also gets underway.

For more information on Oklahoma Men's Tennis, follow the team on Twitter at @OU_MTennis.

THURSDAY RESULTS

Round of 32 Championship Singles
Arias (LSU) defeats Papa (OU) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
Ghilea (OU) defeats Perez (Louisiana) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Siegel (OU) defeats Lopez (TCU) 6-3, 6-4
Freund (LSU) defeats Bragusi (OU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3

Round of 16 Championship Singles
Ghilea (OU) defeats Gowda (Ole Miss) 6-2, 6-3
Daigle (LSU) defeats Siegel (OU) 6-3, 6-3

Consolation Bracket (Back Draw)
Papa (OU) defeats Waholborg (Louisiana) 6-4, 6-4
Bragusi (OU) defeats Forget (USC) by default

FRIDAY SCHEDULE

Quarterfinal Championship Singles
Ghilea (OU) vs. TBD – 11 a.m.

Consolation Bracket (Back Draw)
Papa (OU) vs. Duncan (UGA) – 9 a.m.
Bragusi (OU) vs. Libaud (UL) – 9 a.m.

First Round Championship Doubles
Ghilea/Papa (OU) vs. Duncan/Reinberg (Georgia) – 2:30 p.m.
Bragusi/Siegel (OU) vs. de Vroom/Crystal (USC) – 2:30 p.m.