University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Intercollegiate Tennis Association
Players Mentioned
Milicevic Runner-Up for Central Region, Qualifies for ITA Nationals
10/28/2019 2:50:00 PM | Men's Tennis
NORMAN, Okla. -- Gophers senior Stefan Milicevic fell to Tulsa's Kody Pearson in the ITA Central Region Singles Championship match on Monday. Milicevic had reached the final by defeating teammate Vlad Lobak in yesterday's semifinal in Norman, Okla.
The lone match of Championship Monday in Norman featured Gophers senior Stefan Milicevic attempting to capture the second Central Region singles title of his Gophers career. Milicevic, the 4-seed in the singles bracket, saw himself matched up against Tulsa sophomore Kody Pearson, who came into the singles draw as the 3-seed. Unfortunately for Milicevic, his tournament run would come up just short, as Pearson went on to defeat Milicevic 6-3, 6-1 to be named the ITA Central Region champion.
Despite Milicevic finishing as the tournament's runner-up, his appearance in the Central Regional Final guaranteed him automatic qualification for ITA Fall Nationals in Newport Beach, Calif., which begins Nov. 6. All in all, the Gophers senior is excited to have the opportunity to play at Fall Nationals. "It was a good week here in Norman and I'm satisfied with the result, but I am just a little disappointed because my feet weren't there today, which resulted in the loss," Stefan Milicevic said. "However, I'm happy though because I know what I have to work on in the future and am looking forward to playing in Newport Beach in two weeks."
Notable:
Stefan Milicevic has now qualified for ITA Fall Nationals for the second time of his career with the Gophers. The first year he qualified was in 2017, when Milicevic won the ITA Central Region Championship in singles play.
Quotable:
"Overall I'm happy with our team's performance this past weekend, especially considering it's the first tournament in a while for most of us," head coach Geoff Young said. "Opportunities for growth came into focus over the weekend and I'm looking forward to practice this week."
Up Next:
Gopher's men's tennis will travel to Bonita Springs, Fla. later this week where the Maroon & Gold will take part in the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational. The invite begins Friday, Nov. 1 and will run until Sunday, Nov. 3.