Men's Tennis | 10/18/2019 5:10:00 PM
ROME, Ga.--Alejandro Ibañez Gallego advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Cup at the Rome Tennis Center on Friday.
Ibañez Gallego defeated Dario Huber of Indianapolis 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. Huber, the championshp of the Midwest Region as the seventh seed, was unseeded at the ITA Cup. Ibanez Gallegeo is the field's second seed.
He will now face the fourth-seeded Samuel Sippel of Azusa Pacific in the semifinals. Sippel, a freshman from Nuernberg, Germany, won the West Region in his first year of collegiate tennis. Ibañez Gallego, an All-American last season for the national champion Buccaneers, was ranked 20th in the final poll.
The other two Bucs were not so fortunate in the quarterfinals. Jill Engelmann fell 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 to Tatjana Stoll of Northeastern State. Alessandro Giuliato lost 6-3, 6-1 to Anish Srinketh of St. Edwards.
Engelmann's opponent for the backdraw has not been determined, while Giuliato has withdrawn after his loss.
Ibañez Gallego could become the second straight Buc to play for the ITA Cup title after Pierre Montrieul advanced to teh finals last year. The last Buccaneer to win the title was Emanuel Fraitzl in 2010. Fraitzl is the only Buccaneer to win the national championship in the spring and the individual singles title that fall. Ibañez Gallego could become the second.
