ROME, Ga. - A trio of Xavier men's tennis players spent their Thursday representing the Gold Rush in the ITA Cup, one of the top college tennis tournaments in the nation. 

The Cup attracts top talent from the NAIA, NCAA Division III, and junior colleges to play in 16-entry, single-elimination singles and doubles tournaments over the course of four days. 

XULA standout Christian Sanchez, who is the No. 1 seed in the Men's Open NAIA Singles bracket, got the Gold Rush off to a good start, defeating Lindsey Wilson's Facundo Grasso 6-0, 6-3. 

It was a battle of champions in the opening round, as Grasso recently won the men's singles title at the ITA Southeast Regionals, while Sanchez has won back-to-back tournaments, the HBCU National Championship and ITA Gulf Regional. 

Sanchez will play Piero Fernandez of Southeastern (Fla.)  in the quarterfinals on Friday at 8 a.m. CST. 

In the Men's Open Doubles bracket, the Xavier duo of Edilson Rosa and Fatih Sisic entered as the No. 3 seed. 

Sisic and Rosa fell in straight sets, 6-3 and 6-1, to Mariano Hasenkopf and Nicolas Philibert of Georgia Gwinnett in the opening match. Hasenkopf and Philibert were semifinalists in the ITA South Regional Championship. 

Live stats for all Cup matches are available on the ITA website.