The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JACOBI Bain’s season has been highlighted thus far by two wins in three days at the ITA Cup Tennis Championships in Rome, Georgia.

The Xavier University of Louisiana sophomore scored a 6-2, 7-5 win in the consolation finals against Soufiane El Mesbahi of Keiser University.

Bain entered the draw unranked based on the ITA NAIA regular season singles rankings while El Mesbahi was ranked no.27.

He opened play with a 6-2, 6-1 over Daniel Vishnick of Cardinal Stritch in the opening round to advance to the main-draw quarterfinals. He was then eliminated with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Georgia Gwinnett’s second-seeded Alex Gurmendi.

Bain and the Gold Rush will continue their season October 21-22 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Dillard Invitational.

Formerly known as the Small College Nationals, the ITA Cup dates back to 1986. It is the only singles and doubles national championship event for the Division II and NAIA levels. In 2021, more than 8,000 players participated in 60 regional tournaments to gain entry into the ITA Cup field.

Earlier this month, Bain partnered with Nereo Suarez to advance to the final of the NAIA Gulf ITA Regional where they finished as runners-up to Texas A&M-Texarkana’s second-seeded team of Alejandro Oviedo and Mauricio Trevino Velasco 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7) in the men’s doubles final.

Bain and Suarez won 8-3 in the quarterfinals against Remus Hebhang-Balan and Hippolyte Barbier de Preville of city rival Loyola. They advanced to the final with an 8-1 win over Blue Mountain’s fourth seeded team of Justin Van Amerongen and Rick Sakamoto.

In Singles-A play, Bain advanced to the final against fellow Gold Rush teammate Mathieu Strauss.

Bain’s stellar freshman season for the Gold Rush included a conference wide honour as the ITA NAIA South Region Rookie of the Year.

He finished the year 20-7 in signals play and 26-9 in doubles play.