A.J. Catanzariti continued a hot start to his freshman campaign in Tulsa, Okla., this weekend, the only one of four Aggies competing in pre-qualifying action at the 2014 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men’s All-American Championship to advance all four rounds.
Catanzariti played four matches in two days, defeating Wichita State’s Sergio de Vilchez 6-0, 6-4 and LSU’s Simon Freund 6-2, 6-3 in first and second round action, respectively, on Saturday. He then dismantled Drake’s Matt Frost 6-3, 6-4 Sunday morning to advance to the final round of pre-qualifying competition Sunday afternoon against Middle Tennessee State’s Ben Davis
Davis, a redshirt senior from London, England, is 57-24 in spring singles for the Blue Raiders and has been ranked as high as No. 92 in ITA rankings. Davis drew a first round bye before winning two matches in his run to the final round.
Catanzariti beat the veteran Davis in two sets 6-4, 6-4 and became one of 16 competitors to earn a spot in qualifying competition this week. He will need to continue his success this week in order to qualify for the main draw of the championship.
Texas A&M’s other three pre-qualifying competitors struggled to match Catanzariti’s success. Senior Jordan Szabo and sophomore Max Lunkin were both ousted in first round play, while sophomore Frankie Colunga fell in third round action to Brett Forman (Michigan State) 6-2, 6-1.
The pre-qualifier concludes the first two days of the ten-day championship. Catanzariti will join senior Jeremy Efferding in qualifying competition that runs from Monday through Wednesday. Efferding, the No. 1 seed in the qualifier, plays George Washington’s Francisco Dias at 9 a.m. Monday while Catanzariti plays University of Southern California’s Eric Johnson at 11 a.m.