SUMTER, SC – Junior Alexandre Frigout claimed the Flight B singles title, as Francis Marion University competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Southeast Regional Championships over the weekend (Sept. 26-28) at the Palmetto Tennis Center.
Francis Marion, on the men's side, had five individuals participate in singles and one doubles pairing at the tournament that featured the top players in the Southeast Region. On the women's side, the Patriots entered three individuals in singles competition and two doubles teams.
FMU will compete Oct. 11-12 at the FMU Invitational hosted at the Dr. Eddie Floyd/Florence Tennis Center.
A native of Roseville, Calif., Frigout claimed the ITA Southeast Regional Flight B singles championship after posting an unblemished 5-0 record over the weekend. Frigout entered the contest as the No. 2 seed and opened the competition with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Andy Huynh of Coker on Friday afternoon.
The following day, Frigout rallied to a 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-5) victory versus Spencer Dorosheff of Anderson before advancing to the quarterfinals following another comeback win 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5) against Samuel Guzon of Young Harris.
On Sunday, he won his semifinal match with a 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-2) victory versus Tusculum's William Gee. Frigout captured the championship with a straight-sets 6-4, 6-1 win over Noah Pawirodirjo of Young Harris to win the Flight B Singles title.
Additionally, in men's singles action, FMU sophomore Miguel Maia (1-1) reached the round of 32 while competing in Flight A. He produced a 6-3, 6-4 win against Ben Brandl of North Georgia, before falling in a battle 6-4, 0-6, 0-1 (7-10) to No. 16 ranked Carlo Rosellini of Wingate.
In Flight B, Patriot sophomore Diego Vega Espinosa (1-1) captured a straight-sets win 6-3, 6-2 versus Louis Keenan of Carson-Newman, but dropped a 4-6, 2-6 decision to Gee. Junior Alexander Mirkov (1-1) dropped his opening match 4-6, 2-6 to LMU's Victor Bourguignon, but rebounded with a 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (12-10) victory against Duarte Mestre of Middle Georgia State in the consolation bracket.
In women's singles, Francis marion junior Magdalena Skachova (1-1) entered the tournament ranked No. 16 in Flight A. She delivered an impressive 6-0, 6-1 win over Chowan's Janna Lerma Murillo, before falling in the round of 32 to Futaba Saito of Young Harris via a 5-7, 4-6 final score. Sophomore Lara Lanno (1-1) also played in Flight A and suffered a first-round loss 3-6, 6-7 (4-7) against Ariana Jativa of Erskine. She claimed a comeback victory 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (11-9) in the consolation bracket over Mount Olive's Simone Szovan.
Sophomore Valery Gomez (1-1) competed in Flight B and dropped a 1-6, 1-6 decision to No. 3 ranked Emily Bush of North Georgia, but responded with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Lucie Palud of Lincoln Memorial in the consolation bracket.
The duo of Skachova and freshman Janka Juhasz recorded an 8-3 victory over Aina Miralles and Renee Dorval of Newberry in the women's Flight A doubles before falling 4-8 in the quarterfinals to Catawba's No. 2 ranked tandem of Sofia Antolini and Rin Igarashi.
In Flight B doubles, Lanno and Gomez posted an 8-2 victory against Coker's Rachel Grove and Alejandra Cardenas. The duo fell 5-8 in the quarterfinals to No. 3 ranked Adriana Pellizzari and Lucie Palud of Lincoln Memorial.
