Ambert Advances To Second Round Of NCAA Singles Championship
May 25, 2016
ATHENS, Ga. -- Mississippi State's Romain Ambert has advanced to the second round of the 2003 NCAA Singles Championship after an opening-round victory Wednesday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the University of Georgia campus.
A native of Toulouse, France, the junior Bulldog downed California's 36th-ranked Conor Niland 7-5, 6-3 in Wednesday's first round in the players' first-ever meeting. Ambert overcame service breaks in the first game of both sets for the victory.
Currently ranked 19th nationally, Ambert will face a familiar foe in the second round Thursday at 9 a.m. ET, taking on Auburn's 14th-ranked Rameez Junaid, a 9-16 alphabetical seed. Junaid owns a 2-1 career lead against Ambert, but Ambert took the most recent clash, a 6-2, 7-6 win in the teams' dual match at Auburn on March 16 earlier this year.
An all-American last season, Ambert is playing in his third consecutive NCAA Singles Championship. He is only the second Bulldog ever to do so in each of his first three seasons, joining all-American Matthieu Ballay (1996-98). A three-time, first-team, all-Southeastern Conference selection, Ambert is now 79-29 overall in singles for his career.
The 64-player singles championship will run through Memorial Day, May 26, with one round being held each day. The tournament can be followed on the Internet on two sites: ncaasports.com and georgiadogs.com.
MSU IN THE 2003 NCAA SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP
May 21-26 - Athens, Ga.
First Round (Wednesday, May 21) - #19 Romain Ambert (MSU) def. #36 Conor Niland (California) 7-5, 6-3.
Second Round (Thursday, May 22) - #19 Romain Ambert (MSU) vs. #14 Rameez Junaid (Auburn) - 9 a.m. ET.
(numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings)
