Sooners Close Out All-American Prequalifier

TULSA, Okla. – The Oklahoma men's tennis team finished the prequalifying round of the ITA Men's All-American Championships Sunday with freshman Matt Rodriguez making a run to the final round.

Rodriguez's run to the final included a round of 256 victory over Sansidh Kommaraju (UT-Arlington), 6-1, 6-3 and a comeback win over Fabian Fallert (Ole Miss) in the second round. Rodriguez gave up a tight first set, 7-5, before roaring back to control the following two frames, 6-3, 6-3, and advance.

The Boca Raton, Fla., native took down Andrei Crapcenco (St. John's), in a three-setter, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, in the round of 64. In the qualifying match, Rodriguez was defeated by Andrew Li of Georgia Tech, 6-2, 6-2.

Jochen Bertsch advanced to the round of 64 before he was eliminated. The junior received a first-round bye before defeating SMU's Roberto Rosales in three sets, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1. In his final match, Bertsch fell to William Howells (Notre Dame), 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Also in action were Taine Bernhard and Max Stewart. Freshman Bernhard tallied his first win as a Sooner when he held strong to defeat New Mexico's Karlo Divokovi, 7-5, 7-5, in the round of 256. Bernhard was eliminated in the second round by Arkansas' Josh Howard Tripp, falling, 6-3, 6-4.

Stewart put up a dominant victory over Michael Tran of New Mexico, giving up just one game en route to a 6-1, 6-0 win in the round of 256 matchup. Stewart dropped a tight match to Columbia's Rian Pandole, 7-6 (9), 6-4, in the next round.

Freshman Mason Beiler will open the ITA All-American qualifying draw tomorrow with TCU's Reese Stalder.

Fellow Sooners Alex Bakshi, Jake Van Emburgh and Ferran Calvo are all set for the main draw, which begins Oct. 4.

Results from the prequalifying draw have been updated below.

For updates, follow @OU_MTennis on Twitter or like Oklahoma Men's Tennis on Facebook.

Results

SINGLES
Round of 256
Taine Bernhard (OU) def. Karlo Divokovi (New Mexico), 7-5, 7-5
Max Stewart (OU) def. Michael Tran (New Mexico), 6-1, 6-0
Matt Rodriguez (OU) def. Sansidh Kommaraju (UT-Arlington), 6-1, 6-3

Round of 128
Josh Howard Tripp (Arkansas) def. Taine Bernhard (OU), 6-3, 6-4
Rian Pandole (Columbia) def. Max Stewart (OU), 7-6 (9), 6-4
Matt Rodriguez (OU) def. Fabian Fallert (Ole Miss), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
Jochen Bertsch (OU) def. Roberto Rosales (SMU), 6-7, 6-4, 6-1

Round of 64
Matt Rodriguez (OU) def. Andrei Crapcenco (St. John's), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
William Howells (Notre Dame) def. Jochen Bertsch (OU, 7-6 (3), 6-3

Round of 32 (Qualifying Round)
Andrew Li (Georgia Tech) def. Matt Rodriguez (OU), 6-2, 6-2