University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
ITA Central Region Championships
Toledo Defeated in Central Region Final
10/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
NORMAN, Okla. - University of Minnesota men's tennis senior Leandro Toledo reached the championship match of the ITA Central Region Championships singles main draw, but fell to top-seeded Axel Alvarez of Oklahoma in the tournament's final contest, 7-6 (2), 6-4. Toledo defeated 12th-seeded Ben Lott of Drake, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4), in his first match of the day to advance.
Toledo, the 22nd-ranked singles player in the nation, dropped his first semifinal-round set against Lott, 6-2, but recovered to win set No. 2, 6-4. The third set came down to a tiebreaker and Toledo came out on top, 7-4, to punch his ticket to the 64-player tournament's final match.
In the first set of the championship, Toledo and No. 3-ranked Alvarez each held serve until a tiebreaker was needed. Alvarez won the tiebreaker, 7-2. The second set saw the trend of holding serve continue until Alvarez broke through for a 4-3 lead. The Sooner junior went on to clinch the title with a 6-4 win.
The Central Region championship appearance was the second of Toledo's career. The Hamburg, Germany native also reached the final as a sophomore when the Gophers hosted the event in Minneapolis. Ranked 50th at the time of the match, Toledo lost, 6-4, 6-1, to OU redshirt junior Guillermo Alcorta, then ranked 28th.
Monday's results give Toledo a record of 7-2 on the fall season, including a 2-2 mark against ranked opponents. The senior's career singles record now stands at 78-24. He had a 3-3 ledger in fall tournament play last year as a junior.
Minnesota will resume competition Oct. 31-Nov. 2 when it hosts the Big Ten Indoor Championships at the Baseline Tennis Center.
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