Oct. 3, 2010
Pre-Qualifying Results in PDF Format 
TULSA, Okla. - Sophomore Alexander Pelaez went undefeated through Sunday's pre-qualifying rounds at the D'Novo/ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
In the third round of pre-qualifying play, Pelaez defeated Sacred Heart's Kirill Kasyanov in straight-sets, 6-1, 6-0. In the fourth round, Pelaez up-ended reigning Missouri Valley Conference Co-Player of the Year, Drake's Mauricio Ballivian, in a tough three-setter, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Head coach Cris James was impressed with Pelaez's play Sunday.
"Alex is probably not playing his best yet, but he's finding ways to win," James said. "He really came out and battled in his second match (Sunday), and I like the way he is competing in this tournament."
Senior Timon Reichelt was also in action for the Redbirds Sunday, defeating North Carolina State's Dave Thomson in third round pre-qualifying, 7-6, 6-2, before falling to UC Irvine's Chris Kearney in the fourth round, 7-6, 6-4.
Despite coming up short in his second match, James still found positives in Reichelt's play.
"Timon is disappointed that he didn't go through, but from a coaching standpoint he put up a heck of a fight," James said. "He ran up against a guy with a really big serve, and really battled and competed hard."
With his victories on Sunday, Pelaez advances to qualifying play at the Championships, starting Monday morning. Doubles competition begins Tuesday, when Pelaez will team with Reichelt, and seniors Filip Miljevic and Matej Zlatkovic will form a pair for the Redbirds.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
