Men’s Tennis Heads to Tulsa for ITA All-American Championships
Tulsa, Okla. – South Carolina men’s tennis will continue fall competition in Tulsa, Okla., at the ITA All-American Championships this week. The event will begin with pre-qualifying rounds Sept. 30-Oct. 1, qualifying rounds Oct. 2-3 and the main draw running Oct. 4-8.
The event will be held at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa and at the Case Tennis Center at LaFortune Park in Tulsa, Okla.
Pre-qualifying singles rounds will begin with a draw of 256 players from across the country. The Gamecocks will be represented by Jelani Sarr, Lucas da Silva, and Carter Morgan who will all be battling for one of 16 available spots in the qualifying rounds.
Morgan and da Silva have both seen action at the All-American Championships before, but the event will be a first for Sarr. The freshman has already proven he has what it takes to play in collegiate action having earned a pair of ranked upsets over No. 48 Luca Staeheli of NC State and No. 106 Anuj Watane of North Carolina at the Gamecock Ranked +1.
Da Silva looks to keep his hot streak alive in Tulsa, having gone a perfect 4-0 in singles during the season-opening tournament at home. The sophomore has yet to give up a set.
South Carolina will have two players who enter in the qualifying rounds – No. 56 Casey Hoole and freshman Sean Daryabeigi who was given a wildcard. The 16 prequalifying players will join the field of 112 qualifiers for a 128-man draw. From the field of 128, all players will be in search of one of just 16 spots available in the main draw.
Daryabeigi, who was ranked as the No. 2 recruit in the class of 2023 by tennisrecruiting.net, went 2-1 in singles during his first collegiate matches with a pair of straight set victories and a loss to the nation’s No. 25 player.
Hoole looks to avenge his results from last year’s All-American Championships where he won three matches in prequalifying before falling just short of a spot in the qualifying draw.
The Gamecocks have found recent success at the ITA All-American Championships with Connor Thomson and Toby Samuel having claimed the programs first title in 2022 in doubles, however no Gamecocks will compete in the doubles draw this year.
Live streaming for pre-qualifying and qualifying rounds will be available here. The main draw will be broadcast by Cracked Racquets and is available on its YouTube page.
For all the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
