LAFAYETTE, La. – Freshman
Chad Nguyen led the way for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on day one of the Battle on the Bayou hosted by the University of Louisiana, navigating his way to the semifinal round.
Nguyen made the most of a first round bye, earning a hard-fought quarterfinal victory over Federico Boscarino of New Orleans. The Islander rookie defeated the Southland Conference opponent by a 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 score to earned a spot in the semifinals of the second flight. Nguyen will face Jamie Fraser of Louisiana in the semifinals Saturday morning.
"Overall it was a great day," said associate head coach
Aurelien Tave. "I think it's great to play this kind of tournament because you face adversity and we want to see how the guys react when they are tested. I think overall we competed very well today and responded well to challenges. There is a lot of work still ahead, but this is a driven, high-character group and I'm excited to see how far this team can go this season."
In the main draw, fellow freshman
Cagatay Soke picked up a first round victory before falling in a grueling quarterfinal. Soke knocked off Olivier Gingras from South Alabama by a pair of 6-4 scores. Gingras, a junior with the Jaguars, spent time at four, five and six last year for USA.
Soke could not replicate the success in the quarterfinals, falling in a tiebreak to Vlad Kramarov from the host Ragin' Cajuns. Soke rebounded from a 6-2 loss in the first set to take the second 6-4, forcing a decisive 10-point tiebreak. The Islander came up just short, dropping the tiebreak 10-7. Kramarov spent the majority of his time and the three and four spots for Louisiana.
Senior
Biyik Akinshemoyin also suffered a tough defeat in a tiebreak. The Islander split 6-4 sets with Coleman Wahlborg of Louisiana before the Ragin' Cajun eked out a 10-8 win in the tiebreak. Fellow seniors
Maximilian Ilic and
Mitchell Cook also fell in their respective opening matches. Ilic dropped a 6-3, 7-6 decision to Federico Staksrud of New Orleans while Cook fell to the second seed Pearse Dolan of Louisiana in straight sets.
DOUBLES SUCCESS
In the doubles draw, Akinshemoyin and Soke joined forces to reach the semifinals. The two Islanders upended the homestanding duo of Cocito and Fraser from Louisiana 6-4. The pair will face another duo of Ragin' Cajuns in the semifinals with an 8:30 a.m. start against Dolan and Kramarov.
All five Islanders will be in action Saturday as the Battle of the Bayou concludes in Lafayette.
