Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
ITA All-American Championships
Bogaerts Takes Down One of Nation's Best at ITAs
10/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Jay Garneau, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMTennis)
TULSA, Okla. - Romain Bogaerts defeated the No. 3-ranked player in the nation to lead Wake Forest men's tennis in the main draw the ITA All-American Championships on Friday.
Bogaerts, ranked No. 20 nationally, battled back after dropping the first set to defeat Oklahoma's Axel Alvarez Llamas, an All-American last season, by a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 margin.
Tied at 5-5 in the decisive third set, Bogaerts broke serve to take a 6-5 lead. Then, trailing 40-30 the following game, Bogaerts scored back-to-back points to clinch the third-set victory.
The Belgium native takes on Minnesota's No. 22-ranked Leandro Toledo in the round of 16 tomorrow.
"Romo beat one of the top players in the country in Axel Alvarez," head coach Tony Bresky said. "It was a very close match. He was able to win a couple key points at the end and it was an overall gutsy performance by him. I know he's looking forward to another opportunity to compete tomorrow."
Jon Ho improved his record in Tulsa to 7-1 with a victory in the opening round of the consolation bracket. He defeated Ohio State's 62nd-ranked Ralf Steinbach, his third upset of a nationally-ranked opponent at the All-American Championships.
After earning six straight wins to advance out of pre-qualifiers and qualifiers, Ho fell in the opening round of the main draw. He'll take on No. 16-ranked Dane Webb from Oklahoma in the second round of consolation tomorrow.
"Jon had a nice win today rebounding from his loss yesterday," Bresky added. "He played a very good player in [Steinbach], one of Ohio State's top guys. He'll have another opportunity to play a very good player tomorrow. Obviously he's having a great run in this tournament and hopefully he can continue that."
MAIN DRAW RESULTS
No. 20-ranked Romain Bogaerts
Rd. 1: Bogaerts def. Albert Wagner (Louisville), 6-2, 6-4 (Thursday)
Rd. 2: Bogaerts def. No. 3-ranked Axel Alvarez Llamas (Oklahoma), 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
Rd. 3: Bogaerts vs. No. 22-ranked Leandro Toledo (Minnesota) - Saturday
Jon Ho
Rd. 1: No. 12-ranked Austin Smith (Georgia) def. Ho, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6) (Thursday)
Consolation Rd. 1: Ho def. No. 62-ranked Ralf Steinbach (Ohio State), 7-5, 7-6 (3)
Consolation Rd. 2: Ho vs. No. 16-ranked Dane Webb (Oklahoma) - Saturday
Players Mentioned
