Bain receives at-large bid for ITA Cup Championships

Bahamian Jacobi Bain, a freshman for the Xavier University of Louisiana Gold Rush men’s tennis team, has received an at-large bid to participate in the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) Cup Championships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in men’s doubles.

Bain and his men’s doubles partner Juan Ramirez, of Colombia, recorded a number of wins and impressive performances during the season and were the runners-up from the recently concluded ITA Gulf Regional Championships. Bain and the Gold Rush team hosted that event from October 1-3 at the XULA Tennis Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Bain and Ramirez received an invitation to the cup championships based on previous results and their runner-up finish from the ITA Gulf Regional Championships. He started off the season with a 5-0 win/loss record in singles and doubles before falling at the ITA Gulf Regional Championships.

Bain and Ramirez along with female tennis player Aisha Niyonkuru, a freshman out of Burundi, are the only players of XULA tennis teams to receive at-large bids for the ITA Cup Championships which are set for October 14-17 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. They will join XULA automatic women’s qualifiers Kyra Akinnibi, Valaine Clarke and Kareemah Muhammad in Rome.

Bain and Ramirez were selected for men’s doubles, and Niyonkuru was chosen for women’s singles.

Bain played in two tournaments this season, winning one and finishing as a finalist in the other.

At the ITA Gulf Regional Championships, he won twice apiece in singles and doubles on the opening day. He and Ramirez, seeded third, won 8-4 against Fernando Martinez and Felipe De la Carrera of Texas A&M-Texarkana to reach the semifinals, and then upset seventh-seeded Francisco Arce Vieyra of city rival Loyola University New Orleans, 6-4, 0-6, 1-0 (10-8), to reach the singles quarterfinals.

Bain and Ramirez reached the final with a 9-8 (7-5) victory against William Carey’s Eric Caleguer and Tom Tillger. They trailed 4-1 in the final, against William Carey’s top-seeded Daniil Klimov and Leo Bresson, when the rain started. The event was moved indoors, but the change of scenery did not benefit Bain and Ramirez as they fell 6-2 and 6-3.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/bain-receives-at-large-bid-for-ita-cup-championships/