TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Lander men's tennis team opened competition at the ITA Division II Individual National Championships on Wednesday, highlighted by second-seeded Harry Pugh advancing to the singles round of 16 in Tuscaloosa.
Pugh opened the national tournament with a commanding 6-4, 6-0 victory over Khanh Nguyen of West Virginia Wesleyan in the round of 32, securing his spot in Thursday's second round.
The reigning ITA Southeast Regional singles runner-up will face Bora Bakici of Grand Valley State in the round of 16 Thursday at noon CT, with a spot in the national quarterfinals on the line.
In doubles competition, the second-seeded duo of Pugh and Brendan Jayaprakash suffered an opening-round upset against Nehal Naidoo and Joao D'Amorim of UT Permian Basin, falling 6-3, 1-6, [8-10] in a third-set match tiebreak.
The Bearcats entered the national championships following an undefeated run through the ITA Southeast Regional Championships, where they captured the doubles title after finishing as runners-up the previous year.
Despite the opening-round loss, Pugh and Jayaprakash will continue competing in the tournament's consolation bracket, listed as the West draw. The duo will face Alexander Edley and Mansur Khajimuradov of Northeastern State in Thursday's round of 16 at 5:45 p.m. CT.
Lander will return to action Thursday as Pugh looks to keep the Bearcats in contention for a national singles championship, while he and Jayaprakash look to make a run through the doubles consolation bracket.
