Oct. 20, 2005
TULSA, Okla. -
The NCAA Region V Individual Championships held the qualifying tournament Thursday. Senior Djordje Uskokovic was the only representative of the Illinois State men's tennis team to qualify for the main draw. The event is hosted by Tulsa, the singles and doubles main draw tournaments begin tomorrow October 21.
Uskokovic managed to defeat two opponents, both in straight sets, to be eligible for the main draw. Before the qualifying tournament, judges ranked the top four seeds entering the competition, Uskokovic was seeded No. 2. Only the top eight finishers in the qualifier can compete in the main draw. Head coach Greg Kennett is excited to see Uskokovic's advance to the main draw.
"I thought Djordje could make it through," said Kennett. "He played well today, he had some good down strokes and I was pleased with how he played."
Junior Luka Marinkovic won the first round at the No. 6 spot, but unfortunately he could not over come a three set battle against his second opponent. Marinkovic will still compete in the doubles main draw with teammate Alban Renard tomorrow. Kennett hoped for a better turnout in Marinkovic's favor.
"I thought Luka could make it through too," said Kennett. "Unfortunately, he ran out of gas and didn't play as well in the second round. He had a lot of opportunities in the second match but came up short."
Uskokovic will join teammates, Yohann Nograbat and Renard, who are also competing in the singles main draw tomorrow. The competition is single elimination, though the consolation round will still count towards players rankings.
Kennett would like to see Renard play strong tomorrow.
"I want to see a good win," said Kennett. "Alban will play a seeded player from Oklahoma tomorrow. He can beat this kid if he plays well and plays well during critical points throughout the match."
The main draws begin tomorrow, singles play starts at 8:30 a.m. and doubles at 3pm.
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