A pair of UMBC freshmen, Justin Carter
(Randallstown, Md./Home School) and Alexandre Drean (Bayonne,
France/Lycee Largente) took part in the 2012 ITA Men's
All-American Championships held for the eighth straight year, at
the University of Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
Carter won a pair of matches and advanced to the third round of
the pre-qualifying singles before he was edged by the
13th-seeded player, Virginia's John Harrison-Richmond,
6-4, 7-6. The Retriever newcomer had ousted Bradley's Hamish
Weerasinghe, 6-3, 6-2 and Clemson's Hunter Harrington, 6-4, 6-3 to
advance to the third round.
Drean battled TCU's Blake Robert-Wiggins to the limit before
falling in three sets, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4.
"I was very impressed with the performance of both Justin and
Alexandre this past weekend," head coach Rob Hubbard said. "
It is the first time UMBC has had players accepted into the ITA All
American Tournament and they represented UMBC very well.
"Justin had two very strong wins over starters from
nationally-ranked programs and almost had a third victory over
a top player from UVA. He showed tremendous poise for a
freshman in a major national event.
"Alexandre lost a heartbreaker against a starter from
nationally-ranked TCU. He exhibited a few nerves at the wrong
time, but overall played well. He is coming back home with an
understanding of where he needs to improve his game."
The tournament features the largest field of any collegiate
tennis championship, as more than 300 players competed for the
first national title of the 2012-13 college tennis season.
