Roberts Zguns Advance to Main Draw at ITA All-American Championships; Gajjar Begins Thursday

TULSA, Okla. – Two Razorbacks played their way into the main draw Wednesday at the Polo Ralph Lauren ITA All-American Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Seniors Matt Roberts and Adrians Zguns rolled through the qualifying draw, each winning three matches in three days to earn a spot in the 64-man field, which features nine of the nation’s top 10 players. Fellow senior Rohan Gajjar is already in the main draw as a result of his No. 31 national ranking.

"We’ll have three guys in the main draw, which are the top 64 players in the nation," Arkansas head coach Robert Cox said. "It’s a great reflection on them and where they stand on a national scale.”

Zguns, ranked 58th, was forced into three sets against California’s Tyler Browne, but closed out his third win this week, 6-0, 3-6, 6-2. The Liepaja, Latvia native is now 3-0 this fall.

Roberts won his third consecutive straight-set victory, 7-6(6), 6-2, over James Ludlow of BYU. The 73rd-ranked Little Rock native also improves to 3-0 this fall.

“Adrians and Matt played great tennis today,” Cox said, “but that’s what I expect of my seniors. They had to get through three tough matches."

Gajjar begins his tournament Thursday. The Mumbai, India native opens against Eric Langenkamp of Notre Dame, the nation’s 89th-ranked player. Thursday match also marks the first of the season for Gajjar, who is coming off a 21-15 campaign in 2004-05.

Roberts and Zguns opponents for Thursday will be known after all qualifying matches end Wednesday.

Gajjar and Zguns, the nation’s 6th-ranked duo, are also set for play in Thursday’s doubles draw. The pair is seeded 4th in the event and will face a team to be determined when qualifying matches end.

Follow the Hogs at the ITA All-American Championships by going to http://tulsahurricane.collegesports.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/tuls-m-tennis-scoreboard.html for live scoring and tournament updates.