Senior Casey Ross highlighted the men’s tennis team’s play at the ITA Central Regional Tournament last weekend, advancing as far as the round of 32 for the main draw.

After winning his first two singles matches the day prior, Ross fell to No. 6 and eventual ITA Central Regional champion Jordan Hasson of Oklahoma 6-2, 6-2.

Graduate assistant coach and former player Armando Gandini had to take charge and guide the men’s team as head coach Tom Lilly was with the women’s team at their regional.

“It was [a] once in a lifetime [opportunity],” Gandini said. “Normally we schedule matches where [Lilly] can be at both. This match was supposed to be last week but it just played out that way.”

This was the Jays’ last tournament of the fall season and their last chance to make an impression on the competition before spring training begins.

This tournament, the team did not have any sense of their normal. They were without their head coach, but they were not left alone.

Even with the disruption that the scheduling conflict caused, the entirety of the team rallied together, with Gandini at the reins, and they kept their minds focused on the tournament at hand.

“One key to my success was having coach Armando in my corner keeping me in the right headspace and giving me great pointers,” Ross said.

Ross took these pointers to heart in all his matches. On Thursday, he opened the tournament with a 6-0, 6-2 win before winning a close 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 match against Arkansas’ Riccardo Trione.

While Ross was the only Bluejay player to win in the second round, four of the six others won their first round matches.

Among them was freshman Ethan Neil who bested Felipe Lopez of Saint Louis in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

“For me to go three sets in my first match at the first ITA tournament I have ever played, you know, it just felt good,” Neil said. “It gave me some more confidence.”

Neil, like many teammates, was swept aside in the second round. Eventual runner up of the tournament, Arkansas’ Aleksa Bucan, defeated Neil 6-1, 6-0.

Both of the Jays’ doubles pairs fell in their first round matches on Thursday as well.

The tennis team left this tournament with a sense of confidence and determination. Until the spring season the men’s tennis team will be working on all fundamentals, especially the mental aspect of the game.