Schmitz Qualifies for Main Draw of Futures Tournament
Nov 9, 2015 | Men's Tennis
>F32 Futures Singles Main Draw
NICEVILLE, Fla. - Tulane men's tennis sophomore Constantin Schmitz started his week off with a bang on Monday, collecting back-to-back wins on the day to advance to the main draw of the F32 Futures tournament in Niceville, Florida. The 32-man main draw will begin immediately on Wednesday, Nov. 11, as Schmitz will now have to face the No. 2 overall seed of the tournament.
Starting in the 128-man qualifying draw, Schmitz first had to pick up two wins over the weekend to put himself into said position on Monday. After earning a 6-4, retired, result against Iznaur Akhmaev of Russia in the opening round, Schmitz delivered a momentous victory when he knocked off Nathan Ponwith, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4, in the second round. Ponwith is ranked the No. 1 junior tennis player in the country and 26th in the world.
"It is nice to see Constantin continue to develop and gain more confidence as he picks up more big wins this semester," Tulane head coach Mark Booras stated. "He came back from a tough first set loss to stick to his game plan well and got right back on the horse and get a great win over the top ranked American junior player."
The Germany native then started his Monday with a swift 6-0, 6-2 win vs. Brad Marriott of Great Britain and recent Southern Miss graduate. Next, Schmitz recorded a 7-5, 6-2 result against University of Florida's Alfredo Perez, who most recently made it all the way from prequalifying to the main draw at the ITA All-American Championships.
To advance on Wednesday, Schmitz will have to defeat the No. 354 best player in the world, and No. 2 seed, Deiton Baughman.
Lastly, it's important to note that fellow Green Wave teammate Sebastian Ray also came very close to qualifying for the main draw in singles, coming up just one win short. Rey had cruised in the early goings, defeating Keni Hadzic (6-2, 6-0), Mikhail Esipov (6-4, 6-2) and Gandhi Bhakthavachalam (6-3, 7-6(4)), but eventually fell to Denis Nguyen via the score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.
Be sure to follow Tulane men's tennis on Twitter @GreenWaveMTenn for all updates from Niceville.
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