Erlenbusch’s Run at ITA National Fall Championships Ends in Round of 16

Wednesday, November 7

Surprise, Ariz.

Tulane University

Oracle/ITA Fall National Championships

Erlenbusch’s Run at ITA National Fall Championships Ends in Round of 16

Nov 9, 2018 | Men's Tennis

SURPRISE, Ariz. – Tulane men's tennis junior Luis Erlenbusch's run through the singles main draw at the ITA/Oracle National Championships came to an end in a tough, three-set defeat to the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament on Friday afternoon.

"It's always nice to see our guys make breakthroughs and watch things start to click as they compete," director of tennis Mark Booras said. "We always talk about investing in the process, and the outcome will take care of itself. It's great to see some fruits of those labors of investment. This is the kind of recognition and accountability to our actions that will allow us to continue building for the spring season and reach the goals we have set for ourselves."

After recording upsets over the nation's No. 11 and No. 94 ranked players in the first two rounds on Wednesday and Thursday, Erlenbusch took the court against the University of Texas' Christian Sigsgaard, who owns the No. 54 listing in the ITA singles poll.

Trailing 5-4 in the first set and down a break, Erlenbusch broke back on Sigsgaard to level things up and get the match back on-serve. Unfortunately, Sigsgaard won the next two games to claim the set, but Erlenbusch came right back to earn an early break in the second frame and take an early 3-1 advantage. That would be all he needed, as he went on to win the set, 6-4, and force a third and deciding round.

The third set could not have been any tighter, as Erlenbusch and Sigsgaard exchanged games and kept the match on-serve. Tied 4-4 and leading the game 40-30, Sigsgaard found an opening and took the final two games to earn the break and grab the first bit of momentum as the match came down to the wire. Holding serve, Sigsgaard won the first three points, before finishing off the game for a 6-4 win to close out the three-set victory.

"Luis competed very well this week," Booras said. "He consistently put himself in a position to be successful. Staying focused in the midst of adversity is what we talk a lot about and he showed how that pays off this week against the top players in the country."

Tulane competes at the Longhorn Invitational hosted by the University of Texas this weekend, Nov. 9-11, in its final college tournament of the fall season.

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