Sept. 29, 2007
TULSA, Okla. - Three members of the Auburn men's tennis team kicked off the 2007-08 season Saturday at the 2007 Polo Ralph Lauren ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, Okla. Alexey Tsyrenov led the trio as he advanced to Sunday's pre-qualifying round.
Tsyrenov received a bye through the first round of pre-qualifying and defeated New Mexico's Kamil Pajkowski 6-3, 6-2. He will now take on Central Florida's Brock Sakey on Sunday at 9 a.m.
"This is the first tournament of the year and Alexey has been playing very well, so no surprise there with his win," said head coach Eric Shore. "He has really stepped it up from last season."
Pawel Dilaj and Terence Nugent were not as successful in their season opener, falling in the second round after receiving first-round byes.
Dilaj lost to East Tennessee State's Sebastian Serrano (6-3, 6-4) while Nigent lost to Oklahoma State's Nathan Brynes (6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4).
"Our other guys were not as sharp, but it was the first tournament of the year so things will get better as they get more match experience," said Shore who also pointed out that the ITA All-American Championship is the biggest of the fall tournaments.
"Today was a good start for Alexey and we'll see what he can do tomorrow," said Shore. "He is going to have to win two matches tomorrow to qualify but he is playing really sharp right now and has a good shot."