AUBURN, Ala. – Men’s tennis will compete in the ITA Southern Regional Championships, which will be played Wednesday through Monday, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
For the first time, bids to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be awarded to the best performers in the event. The two players that reach the finals in the singles main draw will earn a bid to the NCAA Singles Championship while the doubles team that wins the doubles main draw will receive a bid to the NCAA Doubles Championship. Both championships will be held Nov. 19-24 in Waco, Texas.
Jake Kennedy and Thomas Kennedy will each start their run at the singles title in the qualifying draw that will be played on Wednesday. Winning two matches in the qualifying round ensures a spot in the singles main draw that starts on Thursday.
Billy Blaydes, Will Nolan, Nicholas Heng, Joey Phillips and Alex Frusina are each featured in the tournament’s singles main draw. Frusina, a freshman, will enter the event after winning each of his first three singles matches of his collegiate career at the SEC/Big 12 Challenge earlier in the month.
All teams in the ITA Southern Region, which includes all Division I schools in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, are invited to participate in the event.
Three Auburn duos will be playing in the doubles main draw: Jake Kennedy and Frusina, Thomas Kennedy and Heng, as well as Billy Blaydes and Will Nolan. Blaydes and Nolan won four matches between the prequalifying and qualifying rounds at the ITA All-American Championships in September.
Full draws and results will be available throughout the tournament online at wearecollegetennis.com.