Sargeant advances in ITA All-American Tournament

TULSA, Okla.--Junior Francis Sargeant pulled out a solid win in his first match, advancing to the qualifying second round in the ITA Men's All-American Championships Monday at Tulsa.

BYU's Sargeant beat Tulsa's Carlos Bautista on his homecourt 6-4, 6-2.

"Francis was patient," BYU assistant coach Daniel Pollock said. "He played a smart match, and it was a good win."

Sargeant found himself down in the first set 4-2. He took the next four games, holding on against Bautista for the first set. Sargeant used his momentum to finish his opponent in the second set. Bautista lost only five total matches in the previous season.

This competition marks the second tournament of the fall for the BYU player. At the Utah Fall Tennis Classic in September, Sargeant was the singles runner-up and part of the winning doubles team.

Finishing as a singles quarterfinalist, doubles finalist or consolation champion in the all-american tournament guarantees an automatic entry into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on Nov. 7-10, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY.

Sargeant's next match will be against Baylor's Mate Zsiga Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 3:30 p.m. CDT.

Live stats can be followed on the Tulsa tennis website.