ITA Central Region Championships Recap: Huskers Benefit from Experience

Only three members of the Nebraska men's tennis team competed at the 2018 ITA Central Region Championships. The Huskers who did compete performed well--Victor Moreno Lozano reached the round of 32 singles as a freshman, while senior Chris Dean and sophomore William Gleason made it to the round of 64--but the experience was limited to those individuals.

Fast forward one year and a total of eight Huskers competed in the 2019 ITA Central Region Championships in Norman, Okla. Overall, the Huskers won 13 singles matches and eight doubles contests. In singles competition, sophomore Victor Moreno Lozano advanced to the Round of 16, making it one round further than he did at last year's ITA Central Region Championships. South Carolina transfer Patrick Cacciatore, Nagano, Japan, native Shunya Maruyama and former top-50 recruit Andre Saleh all posted 2-1 records in singles matches in their first Central Region Championships appearance as Huskers.

On the doubles side of the bracket, the pairing of Cacciatore and former top-200 ITF-rated freshman Albert Sprlak-Puk advanced all the way to the quarterfinals before bowing out while Moreno Lozano and William Gleason made it to the Round of 16.

Overall, it was a performance Husker coaches could be proud of. 

"Anytime we get a chance to compete and play matches, that is good or us " said Head Coach Sean Maymi. "We are learning more and more every time we are in those situations. [The coaching staff is] pleased at how the team is working and [knows] this group will get better and better as we gain experience."  

The Huskers will be back in action at the Big Ten Individual Tournament in Linocln from Nov. 1-4. 

Full Results: 

Singles:
Round of 128 
Victor Moreno Lozano def. Kacper Piekarek (UMKC), 6-1, 6-3
Shunya Maruyama def. Jake Fraunfelder (UMKC), 6-2, 6-2
Andre Saleh def. Marcello Morira (Oral Roberts), 6-4, 6-4
Hunter Harrison (Arkansas) def. Patrick Cacciatore, 7-5, 6-1
Morgan Lohan (Iowa) def. Chester Wickwire, 6-2, 6-2 

Round of 64
William Gleason def. Scott Hjelm (Oral Roberts), 6-1, 6-4 
Victor Moreno Lozano def. Juan Pablo Cenoz (Tulsa), 7-6, 7-6
Albert Sprlak-Puk def. Davis Lawley (UNO), 7-5, 6-4
Slim Toost (Minnesota) def. Shunya Maruyama, 6-4, 6-1 
Will Davies (Iowa) def. Chris Dean, 6-1, 6-2
Evan Fragistas (Drake) def. Andre Saleh, 6-2, 6-3

Round of 32 
Emile Hudd (Oklahoma State) def. Will Gleason, 6-2, 6-4 
Victor Moreno Lozano def. Brady Draheim (Oklahoma State), 6-4, 6-3
Sebastian Vile def. Albert Sprlak-Puk, 6-3, 6-1

Round of 16 
Stefan Milicevic (Minnesota) def. Victor Moreno Lozano, 6-0, 6-2

Singles Extra Matches
Patrick Cacciatore def. Alex Richards (Wichita State), 6-0, 6-1
Shunya Maruyama def. Finley Hall (Drake), 7-5, 6-1
Andre Saleh def. Barny Thorold (Drake), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Chris Dean def. Luka Jakovic (Drake), 5-2, ret.
Chester Wickwire def. Freddie Powell (Drake), 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 [8]
Neil O'Connor (UMKC) def. Christopher Dean, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 [6]
Jackson Allen (Minnesota) def. William Gleason, 6-1, 6-3
Dylan Heap (Minnesota) def. Victor Moreno Lozano, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Patrick Cacciatore def. Daniel Siddall (Tulsa), 6-2, 6-4
Tom Thelwall-Jones (Tulsa) def. Chris Dean 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 [8]
Ezequiel Santalla (Tulsa) def. Chester Wickwire 6-0, 6-7 (4), 2-0 [3]

Doubles: 
Round of 64
Saleh/Maruyama def. Jarvis/Powell (Drake), 8-5
Fragistas/Jankovic (Drake) def. Wickwire/Dean, 8-3

Round of 32
Sprlak-Puk/Cacciatore def. Milicevic/Zarkovic (Minnesota), 8-6
Siddell/Santalla (Tulsa) def. Saleh/Maruyama, 8-3 
Moreno Lozano/Gleason def. Bruno Serra/Latinovic (Wichita State), 8-6

Round of 16 
Trost/Lobak (Minnesota) def. Moreno Lozano/Gleason, 8-7(4)
Sprlak-Puk/Cacciatore def. Campbell/Mease (Creighton) 8-7(2)

Quarterfinals
Shnezhko/Clegg (Iowa) def. Sprlak-Puk/Cacciatore, 8-5