Tournament Scores
NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's
Santiago Perez defeated two Georgia Gwinnett opponents Saturday. But if Perez
is to win the men's singles title of the ITA NAIA South Regional Championships,
he'll have to defeat two more Grizzlies Sunday.
Perez — seeded second at this tournament and
the ITA NAIA National Freshman of the Year last season — beat Georgia Gwinnett's Gregor Hutterer 6-3, 1-0, retired and
seventh-seeded Mika Kosonen 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6) to advance to the semifinals.
Kosonen was the 2018 champion of this event.
The other three semifinalists are from Georgia Gwinnett: Daniel Czepielewski, Jose Dugo and
Federico Bonacia. Perez will play Bonacia, who is seeded third, at 10 a.m Sunday at XULA Tennis Center.
Also advancing to the main-draw semifinals was the XULA women's
doubles team of
Lailaa Bashir and
Angela Charles-Alfred. The No. 2 seed, Bashir and
Charles-Alfred remained unbeaten for the fall
with an 8-1 victory against Point's Juana Zambrano and Valentina Pabon.
All four women's doubles seeds advanced. Bashir and
Charles-Alfred will play Georgia Gwinnett's No. 3 Tereza Koplova and Gabrielle Robinson.
Juan Batalla and
Samir Chikhaoui both were eliminated
in the men's singles quarterfinals, but they produced upsets for the Gold Rush
in the round of 16. Batalla beat Georgia Gwinnett's No. 5 Valentino Caratini
4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (15-13), and Chikhaoui defeated Point's No. 6 Federico Barbon 6-1, 6-4.
Several afternoon rain showers forced a shift
from City Park to the indoor courts at the Hilton Riverside.
Play will resume at 8 a.m. Sunday at XULA with consolation matches.