Alabama
NCAA Singles Championships
Planinsek Opens NCAA Singles Championships Monday
5/22/2022 11:24:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Filip Planinsek competes at 5 p.m. CT against Andre Ilagan
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. –– Filip Planinsek makes his debut at the NCAA Singles Championships Monday at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Ill. Planinsek will compete in the opening round against Andre Ilagan from Hawaii at 5 p.m. CT.
The singles tournament, which features 64 of the nation's top competitors, will run May 23-28.
How to Follow
Video for the tournament will be provided by TennisOne. A link to download the app and to live scoring will be available at RollTide.com. Updates will be provided on the team's Twitter account, @AlabamaMTN
The Tournament
- The six-day tournament will begin Monday, May 23, with the NCAA singles champion being crowned Saturday, May 28
- Planinsek is one of 64 players set to compete in the tournament
- Both the singles and doubles championship will be held at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Ill.
- Planinsek will open the tournament against Hawaii's Andre Ilagan at 5 p.m. CT on Monday
The Run Up to the Tournament
- Planinsek currently ranks No. 25, entering the tournament as the second highest-ranked freshman in the country
- Planinsek is also the lone freshman from the Southeastern Conference to be currently ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
- The Hoce, Slovenia, native paced the Crimson Tide throughout the season, competing at the No. 1 spot all year, posting a team-leading 21 singles wins with 14 coming in dual match competition
- He defeated seven ranked players during the season, which included downing the top-ranked player in the country, Ben Shelton (Florida), in a come-from-behind three-set win
- Planinsek was named the SEC Freshman of the Year, the first in program history to earn the conference honor
Alabama At The NCAA Singles Championships
- This is the fourth consecutive year that Alabama has sent a player to the NCAA Singles Championships with Mazen Osama advancing in 2018 and 2019 and Edson Ortiz advancing in 2021 (there was no NCAA Tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
- Planinsek is the 26th player from the men's team to compete in the NCAA Championships singles draw
- He also marks the 40th time that the program has qualified someone for the singles draw
- Under the direction of head coach George Husack, UA has recorded 20 berths to either the NCAA singles or doubles draw
The Opening Round
- Ilagan enters the tournament ranked 40th in singles
- The Hawaii junior holds a team-leading 9-4 record, competing at the No. 1 spot all season for the Rainbow Warriors
- Ilagan is making his first appearance in the NCAA Singles Tournament after putting together a successful campaign that earned him 2022 Big West Player of the Year honors
Get all the latest information on the team by following AlabamaMTN on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
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Players Mentioned
