TULSA, OK-Texas A&M senior Alexis Klegou (pronounced CLAY-goo) followed up a major morning upset with another win against a higher-ranked opponent, Sadio Doumbia from Georgia, 6-4, 6-3, in the afternoon match to advance to the third round of the main draw of the ITA All-American Tennis Championships being held at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Klegou will face BYU's Georgy Batrakov in the Round of 16 match on Friday.
"Goo (Klegou) really showed me something today under difficult windy conditions and he was facing one of his French countryman," Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. "Goo really competed well and raised his level at the important moments in his match this afternoon. The mark of a good player is after having a signature win against a player like (Eric) Quigley, backing that win up with another great mental effort this afternoon."
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.
Klegou is ranked No. 42 in the pre-season ITA rankings. In the first round, he faced the No. 2 seed in the tournament field and the country's No. 3-ranked player in Eric Quigley from Kentucky and defeated Quigley, 7-6 (1), 6-3, in straight sets.
"I felt good today and started strong," Klegou said following the morning match. "The tiebreaker in the first set was key and then I had momentum for the second set."
"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."
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) and Grigi (Grigorov) 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."
Klegou and his doubles partner and fellow senior Colin Hoover, from Victoria, Texas, had received a bye in the first round of doubles and faced the Yale duo of Erik Blumenkranz and Joel Samaha. The Aggies came out on top, 8-0.
The victory set up a showdown against the Texas Longhorns top duo of Soren Hess and David Holiner who were seeded No. 14 in the tournament field and are nationally ranked at No. 55 in the land. Klegou and Hoover beat the Horns, 8-5, before falling to the Oklahoma doubles team of Tsvetan Mihov and Peerakit Siributwong, 8-5.
2011 ITA Men's All-American Championships
Michael D. Case Tennis Center
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Surface: Hard-Outdoor
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Thursday, October 6 - RESULTS
Main Draw Singles - Second Round
Alexis Klegou (Texas A&M) def. Sadio Doumbia (Georgia) 6-4, 6-3
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Main Draw Singles - First Round
Alexis Klegou (Texas A&M) def. No. 2 Eric Quigley (Kentucky) 7-6 (1), 6-3
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Wednesday, October 5 - RESULTS
Qualifying Doubles-Finals
T. Mihov-P. Siributwong (Oklahoma) def. C. Hoover-A. Klegou (Texas A&M) 8-5
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Qualifying Doubles - Third Round
C. Hoover-A. Klegou (Texas A&M) def. S. Hess-D. Holiner (Texas) 8-5
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Tuesday, October 4 - RESULTS
Qualifying Singles - Second Round
Juan Melian Puigventos (Georgia Tech) def. Alberto Bautista (Texas A&M) 0-6, 7-5, 6-1
Vitor Manzini (Texas Tech) def. Niall Angus (Texas A&M) 7-6(9), 7-5
Roy Kalmanovich (Illinois) def. Junior Ore (Texas A&M) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(7)
Qualifying Doubles - Second Round
C. Hoover-A. Klegou (Texas A&M) def. E. Blumenkranz-J. Samaha (Yale) 8-0
G. Baktrakov-P. Kawka (BYU) def. A. Bautista-J. Ore (Texas A&M) 8-5
Qualifying Doubles - First Round
J. Burkhardt-W. Parker (UNC) def. N. Angus-J. Efferding (Texas A&M) 8-1
Qualifying Consolation Singles
Colin Hoover (Texas A&M) def. Alex Brigham (UCLA) 6-4, 6-2
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Monday, October 3-RESULTS
Qualifying Singles-First Round
Junior Ore (Texas A&M) def. Dane Webb (Oklahoma) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Alberto Bautista (Texas A&M) def. Zach White (Mississippi State) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Niall Angus (Texas A&M) def. Jenson Turner (Pepperdine) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 seed Nikola Bubnic (San Diego) def. Colin Hoover (Texas A&M) 6-2, 7-6 (7)
Yannick Maden (Clemson) def. Jeremy Efferding (Texas A&M) 6-3, 6-1
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Sunday, October 2 - RESULTS
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Pre-Qualifying Singles - Final Round
Jeremy Efferding (Texas A&M) def. Javier Pulgar (San Diego State) 6-3, 6-3
Pre-Qualifying Singles - Third Round
Alen Salibasic (Drake) def. Jackson Withrow (Texas A&M) 6-3, 6-3
Jeremy Efferding (Texas A&M) def. Hunter Harrington (Clemson) 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-0
Johan Backstrom (Ole Miss) def. Daniel Brown (Texas A&M) 6-3, 7-6(3)
Saturday, October 1- RESULTS
Pre-Qualifying Singles - Second Round
Jackson Withrow (Texas A&M) def. Cody Hall (South Alabama) 6-4, 7-6 (4)
Jeremy Efferding (Texas A&M) def. Robert Verzaal (Baylor) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Daniel Brown (Texas A&M advances after Ola Bakke (San Francisco) withdrew
Pre-Qualifying Singles - First Round
Joe Salisbury (Memphis) def. John Lewis (Texas A&M) 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4
Carlin Murray (Louisiana-Lafayette) def. Beau Blackshear (Texas A&M ) 6-2, 6-0
Ramiro Blanco (USC Upstate) def. Jordan Szabo (Texas A&M) 6-4, 6-4
Jeremy Efferding (Texas A&M) def. Matthew Langley (Middle Tennessee) 6-2, 6-1
Daniel Brown (Texas A&M) def. Skip Span (Illinois St.) 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
Jackson Withrow (Texas A&M) BYE
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