WACO, Texas–
Anton Shepp won a pair of matches in the qualifying portion of the ITA Division I Texas Regional Championships on Thursday at Baylor University's Hurd Tennis Center.
In doing so, Shepp joins
Bautista Vilicich and
Santiago Giamichelle in the main draw of the singles tournament. The trio will all take the court on Friday, beginning with Giamichelle facing Isaac Arevalo (Texas Tech) at noon. Vilicich will then face Trinity Grear (Rice) at 1 p.m. followed by Shepp squaring off against Tadeas Paroulek (Baylor) at 3 p.m.
Prior to their singles matches, the duo of
Solano Caffarena and Shepp will face Christopher Frantzen and Marko Miladinovic (Baylor) in the opening round of the doubles tournament at 9 a.m. on Friday. Giamichelle and Vilicich received a first-round bye in doubles and will face off against Texas A&M's Luke Casper and Mathis Bondaz at 9:45 a.m. Friday. The third doubles duo for UTA -
Ricardo Alban and
Daichi Akiyoshi - will face Lamar's Max Amling and Filippo Salsini at 9:45 a.m. in the first round.
Caffarena nearly joined his three teammates in the main draw. The junior defeated SMU's Eli Susser 6-1, 6-0 in the qualifying round of 64 and took a one-set lead on Rice's Wes Barnett before falling 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the next round.
Qualifying Singles - Round of 64
Garrett Skelly (UTSA) d.
Ricardo Alban (UTA) 6-2, 6-2
Solano Caffarena (UTA) d. Eli Susser (SMU) 6-1, 6-0
Danijal Muminovic (UTSA) d.
Daichi Akiyoshi (UTA) 6-0, 6-4
Anton Shepp (UTA) d. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-0
Qualifying Singles - Round of 32
Wes Barnett (Rice) d.
Solano Caffarena (UTA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Anton Shepp (UTA) d. Rafal Bednarczuk (Incarnate Word) 6-2, 6-3
This tournament is a huge opportunity for the Mavericks to earn regional points, which would boost national rankings. Both the singles and doubles finalists will get the chance to compete in the ITA National Tournament.
ITA REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday
Morning - Doubles: Round of 64
Morning - Doubles: Round of 32
Afternoon - Singles Main Draw Round of 64
Saturday
Morning - Doubles: Round of 16
Morning - Singles Main Draw Round of 32
Afternoon - Singles Main Draw Round of 16
Afternoon - Singles Main Draw Consolation
Sunday
Morning - Doubles: Quarterfinals
Afternoon - Singles Main Draw Quarterfinals
Monday
Morning - Doubles: Semifinals
Afternoon - Singles Main Draw Semifinals
Tuesday
Doubles: Finals
Singles: Finals
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