TULSA, OK-Texas A&M senior Alexis Klegou (pronounced CLAY-goo) upset the No. 2 seed Eric Quigley from Kentucky, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the first round of the main draw of the ITA All-American Tennis Championships being held at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in an 8 a.m. match on Thursday. Klegou advances to face Sadio Doumbia from Georgia in a second-round match at 12 noon.
Klegou, a 6-2 righthander from Dunkerque, France, is the logical choice to assume the No. 1 position in the Aggie lineup after three seniors graduated including All-Americans Austin Krajicek and Jeff Dadamo as well as Alexey Grigorov from Russia. Klegou played the majority of time at the No. 4 line last spring and posted a 21-2 dual record which included a 13-0 mark at the No. 4 position and Klegou brings a 15-match winning streak into dual play in the spring of 2012.
"I felt good today and started strong," Klegou said. "The tiebreaker in the first set was key and then I had momentum for the second set."
Quigley is the nation's No. 3-ranked singles player in the country.
"Goo (Klegou) played very well this morning," Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. "He is so athletic and he had a good service match. He really dictated the tempo and that was great to see against such as quality opponent as (Eric) Quigley. This win should boost Goo's confidence, but he has to get focused on the next match against another excellent opponent."
Klegou won the clinching point in the Aggie's Big 12 Championship match against Oklahoma last spring as the Aggies won the team title and then Klegou won the deciding point in the NCAA second-round match against LSU as the Aggies finished the 2011 spring season ranked No. 10 in the country.
"We had excellent team leadership from Austin (Krajicek) and Jeff (Dadamo) last year and now it is time for me and our other seniors like Colin (Hoover) and John (Lewis) to lead our team," Klegou said. "We've got some young and talented players and we just have to keep working to improve. Our competition in practice helps prepare us for events like the All-American Championships."
THURSDAY, Oct. 6, 2011
ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (Tulsa, OK)
Main Draw Singles
First Round
Alexis Klegou (Texas A&M) def. No. 2 Eric Quigley (Kentucky) 7-6 (1), 6-3
Second Round
Alexis Klegou (Texas A&M) vs. Sadio Doumbia (Georgia) at 12 noon