Friday, May 3
Starkville, Miss.
10 AM
Tulane University
vs
South Alabama
Men’s Tennis Begins NCAA Tournament Play in Starkville
May 2, 2019 | Men's Tennis
WATCH LIVE | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | NCAA Tournament Program
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Tulane men's tennis team begins its fourth journey through the NCAA Tournament in as many years against South Alabama on Friday, May 3. First serve is set for 10 a.m. (CT), at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on the campus of Mississippi State University.
Seeded second in the region, the Green Wave (14-12) and third-seeded Jaguars (18-6) will play for the right to face the winner of host Mississippi State and Alabama State the following afternoon at 1 p.m.
SCOUTING SOUTH ALABAMA
After winning the Sun Belt Conference championship for the second year in a row, the Jaguars enter Friday's match with victories in five straight contests. South Alabama owns a 5-4 record away from home this season and a 5-1 mark on neutral courts. The Jaguars share three common opponents with the Green Wave, including Florida State, USF and UCF, and went 0-3 in those contests. South Alabama is led by Loic Cloes, who owns a 21-8 overall singles record, including an 18-4 mark this spring. He is 7-0 at the No. 2 spot, and 11-4 at No. 3. In doubles, Cloes and Clement Marzol comprise the team's No. 1 duo with an 18-12 record, including a 9-8 mark at the top spot in the lineup.
SCOUTING ALABAMA STATE
After winning the SWAC Championship for the third year in a row, the Hornets (12-9) will face top-seeded Mississippi State in Friday's first round. They've won four straight matches and share two common opponents with the Green Wave in Alcorn State and LSU. Ion Efrim leads the team with a 13-2 singles record this spring, including an 11-2 mark at the top spot in the lineup.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Bulldogs (22-3) received the No. 7 overall national seed in this year's tournament and enter the weekend with a 12-match winning streak after winning the SEC Championship for the second year in a row two weekends ago in Gainesville, Fla. Mississippi State has won 25-straight matches on its home courts dating back to the 2016-17 season, including a 10-0 record this spring. The Bulldogs possess two players ranked in the ITA's national singles rankings, including No. 1 overall player Nuno Borges and No. 61 Giovanni Oradini. Borges is 30-2 overall and a perfect 23-0 this spring playing atop the team's lineup.
In doubles, Borges and Strahinja Rakic comprises the nation's No. 3 tandem in the rankings, while Oradini and Niclas Braun are listed at No. 32.
Tulane and Mississippi State faced off indoors in Lubbock, Texas on February 9, as the Bulldogs held on for what turned out to be a tight, 4-1 victory. The Green Wave lost the deciding, No. 3 doubles match, 7-6, despite being locked in a 6-6 tie on court one. Hamish Stewart earned a three-set win at No. 3 singles.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Tulane enters this year's NCAA Tournament having won its first-round match in five of its last six appearances. The Green Wave have won 10 of their last 12 matches to begin the weekend, as they search for their first trip to the round of 16 since 2003.
AGAINST THE FIELD
Tulane played 14 of its 26 matches against opponents selected to the NCAA Tournament's 64-team field.
IN THE ITA RANKINGS
Tulane possesses two players listed in the latest Oracle/ITA national singles rankings, as Ewan Moore holds the Wave's top singles mark at No. 65, followed by Luis Erlenbusch at No. 101.
As a team, the Green Wave rank No. 40 nationally according to the most recent poll released on May 1. On January 30, Tulane was ranked No. 17 in the team polls, marking the highest for the Green Wave in the post-Katrina era.
AWARDS IN THE AMERICAN
Green Wave juniors Ewan Moore and Luis Erlenbusch were two of just six singles players named to the All-American Athletic Conference Team, marking the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons Tulane has produced multiple all-conference selections.
CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Hamish Stewart was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week two times in as many seven-day windows on April 2 and April 9 for the first two times in his career. He also became the first Green Wave men's tennis player to receive the honor in consecutive weeks since Constantin Schmitz accomplished the feat three straight times in 2018.
Junior Ewan Moore was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 29 for the first time this season and the second time in his career. Moore went 2-0 at the No. 1 singles position and clinched both matches to secure consecutive top-20 upset wins for the Green Wave at ITA Kickoff Weekend. He clinched a three-set win in a third set tiebreaker over 45th-ranked Timo Stodder to seal the win over No. 18 Tennessee on Jan. 26, before topping host and No. 19 Florida State's Aziz Douglas in another three-set battle the following day.
ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR BERTH
With back-to-back wins Jan. 26-27 over No. 18 Tennessee and No. 19 Florida State in Tallahassee, Tulane punched its ticket to the 45th-annual ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the first time in program history.
DEGREE OF SCHEDULE DIFFICULTY
This spring, Tulane challenged a total of 15 regular-season opponents that earned NCAA Tournament bids in 2018, including Columbia, Drake, Florida State, Harvard, Illinois, Memphis, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Old Dominion, San Diego, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, TCU and Texas Tech. Fourteen of those teams finished last season ranked inside the top 40 of the ITA team rankings.
THE BOORAS EFFECT
Head coach and director of tennis Mark Booras is in his 10th season at the helm of the program and has led Tulane to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Tulane has increased its final ITA team ranking each of the last six seasons, finishing No. 28 overall last spring. In addition to producing four straight singles All-America honorees, Booras was named the 2018 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and has been selected Louisiana Coach of the Year each of the last four seasons.
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Tulane men's tennis team begins its fourth journey through the NCAA Tournament in as many years against South Alabama on Friday, May 3. First serve is set for 10 a.m. (CT), at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on the campus of Mississippi State University.
Seeded second in the region, the Green Wave (14-12) and third-seeded Jaguars (18-6) will play for the right to face the winner of host Mississippi State and Alabama State the following afternoon at 1 p.m.
SCOUTING SOUTH ALABAMA
After winning the Sun Belt Conference championship for the second year in a row, the Jaguars enter Friday's match with victories in five straight contests. South Alabama owns a 5-4 record away from home this season and a 5-1 mark on neutral courts. The Jaguars share three common opponents with the Green Wave, including Florida State, USF and UCF, and went 0-3 in those contests. South Alabama is led by Loic Cloes, who owns a 21-8 overall singles record, including an 18-4 mark this spring. He is 7-0 at the No. 2 spot, and 11-4 at No. 3. In doubles, Cloes and Clement Marzol comprise the team's No. 1 duo with an 18-12 record, including a 9-8 mark at the top spot in the lineup.
SCOUTING ALABAMA STATE
After winning the SWAC Championship for the third year in a row, the Hornets (12-9) will face top-seeded Mississippi State in Friday's first round. They've won four straight matches and share two common opponents with the Green Wave in Alcorn State and LSU. Ion Efrim leads the team with a 13-2 singles record this spring, including an 11-2 mark at the top spot in the lineup.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Bulldogs (22-3) received the No. 7 overall national seed in this year's tournament and enter the weekend with a 12-match winning streak after winning the SEC Championship for the second year in a row two weekends ago in Gainesville, Fla. Mississippi State has won 25-straight matches on its home courts dating back to the 2016-17 season, including a 10-0 record this spring. The Bulldogs possess two players ranked in the ITA's national singles rankings, including No. 1 overall player Nuno Borges and No. 61 Giovanni Oradini. Borges is 30-2 overall and a perfect 23-0 this spring playing atop the team's lineup.
In doubles, Borges and Strahinja Rakic comprises the nation's No. 3 tandem in the rankings, while Oradini and Niclas Braun are listed at No. 32.
Tulane and Mississippi State faced off indoors in Lubbock, Texas on February 9, as the Bulldogs held on for what turned out to be a tight, 4-1 victory. The Green Wave lost the deciding, No. 3 doubles match, 7-6, despite being locked in a 6-6 tie on court one. Hamish Stewart earned a three-set win at No. 3 singles.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Tulane enters this year's NCAA Tournament having won its first-round match in five of its last six appearances. The Green Wave have won 10 of their last 12 matches to begin the weekend, as they search for their first trip to the round of 16 since 2003.
AGAINST THE FIELD
Tulane played 14 of its 26 matches against opponents selected to the NCAA Tournament's 64-team field.
IN THE ITA RANKINGS
Tulane possesses two players listed in the latest Oracle/ITA national singles rankings, as Ewan Moore holds the Wave's top singles mark at No. 65, followed by Luis Erlenbusch at No. 101.
As a team, the Green Wave rank No. 40 nationally according to the most recent poll released on May 1. On January 30, Tulane was ranked No. 17 in the team polls, marking the highest for the Green Wave in the post-Katrina era.
AWARDS IN THE AMERICAN
Green Wave juniors Ewan Moore and Luis Erlenbusch were two of just six singles players named to the All-American Athletic Conference Team, marking the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons Tulane has produced multiple all-conference selections.
CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Hamish Stewart was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week two times in as many seven-day windows on April 2 and April 9 for the first two times in his career. He also became the first Green Wave men's tennis player to receive the honor in consecutive weeks since Constantin Schmitz accomplished the feat three straight times in 2018.
Junior Ewan Moore was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 29 for the first time this season and the second time in his career. Moore went 2-0 at the No. 1 singles position and clinched both matches to secure consecutive top-20 upset wins for the Green Wave at ITA Kickoff Weekend. He clinched a three-set win in a third set tiebreaker over 45th-ranked Timo Stodder to seal the win over No. 18 Tennessee on Jan. 26, before topping host and No. 19 Florida State's Aziz Douglas in another three-set battle the following day.
ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR BERTH
With back-to-back wins Jan. 26-27 over No. 18 Tennessee and No. 19 Florida State in Tallahassee, Tulane punched its ticket to the 45th-annual ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the first time in program history.
DEGREE OF SCHEDULE DIFFICULTY
This spring, Tulane challenged a total of 15 regular-season opponents that earned NCAA Tournament bids in 2018, including Columbia, Drake, Florida State, Harvard, Illinois, Memphis, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Old Dominion, San Diego, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, TCU and Texas Tech. Fourteen of those teams finished last season ranked inside the top 40 of the ITA team rankings.
THE BOORAS EFFECT
Head coach and director of tennis Mark Booras is in his 10th season at the helm of the program and has led Tulane to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Tulane has increased its final ITA team ranking each of the last six seasons, finishing No. 28 overall last spring. In addition to producing four straight singles All-America honorees, Booras was named the 2018 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and has been selected Louisiana Coach of the Year each of the last four seasons.
FOLLOW THE GREEN WAVE
Follow Tulane men's tennis on Twitter and Facebook (@GreenWaveMTenn), as well as Instagram (@TulaneMTennis) for behind the scenes coverage of the program.
WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
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