Photo by: Rob Taylor
Marques Earns First Career ITA Ranking
November 13, 2019 | Men's Tennis
GREENVILLE, N.C. – After an undefeated fall season, Diogo Marques of the ECU men's tennis team earned his first career national ranking, checking in at No. 103 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) singles rankings.
"This is a nice reward for Diogo, it's not easy to get into the national singles rankings," said head coach Shawn Heinchon. "You have to give Diogo a lot of credit. He works hard at his craft and it shows up in his results. This should not only give him, but hopefully all of us confidence moving into the spring season. We have a ton of work to do to get to where we need to be as a group so we can have a good spring, but this is a nice bonus for him."
Marques was limited to just two tournaments during his sophomore fall due to injury, but he made them count. The Setubal, Portugal native went a perfect 8-0 in singles matches between the Liberty Invitational and the UNCG Fall Invite.
At the Liberty Invitational, Marques nearly dropped his very first match, needing a third-set tiebreaker to beat James Madison's Stefan Petrovic. His close calls continued as he went into three sets in all four matches in the tournament, including another third-set tiebreaker against Liberty's Josh Wilson in the draw final. When Marques outlasted Wilson for the win, he earned the first flight championship of his collegiate career.
Marques' perfect run at the UNCG Fall Invite was slightly smoother, with Marques winning all four of his matches in straight sets. Following play in Greensboro, Marques was named the AAC Men's Tennis Player of the Month for September, becoming the first Pirate to earn the award.
Marques becomes the first ECU player to be ranked in the ITA singles poll since Joran Vliegen was No. 28 in the final poll of the 2013-14 season. He is just the third ECU player to be ranked in the country's top-125, joining Vliegen and Miles Holvoet.
The Pirates will begin the dual match portion of their schedule on Jan. 24 when they host North Carolina Central at the ECU Indoor Tennis Facility.
After an undefeated fall, Diogo Marques became the third Pirate to earn a spot in the @ITA_Tennis Singles Rankings!#GoPirates☠️
— ECU Men's Tennis (@ecutennisM) November 14, 2019
📰https://t.co/mclAKPjas5 pic.twitter.com/9lgihkGrUP
"This is a nice reward for Diogo, it's not easy to get into the national singles rankings," said head coach Shawn Heinchon. "You have to give Diogo a lot of credit. He works hard at his craft and it shows up in his results. This should not only give him, but hopefully all of us confidence moving into the spring season. We have a ton of work to do to get to where we need to be as a group so we can have a good spring, but this is a nice bonus for him."
Marques was limited to just two tournaments during his sophomore fall due to injury, but he made them count. The Setubal, Portugal native went a perfect 8-0 in singles matches between the Liberty Invitational and the UNCG Fall Invite.
At the Liberty Invitational, Marques nearly dropped his very first match, needing a third-set tiebreaker to beat James Madison's Stefan Petrovic. His close calls continued as he went into three sets in all four matches in the tournament, including another third-set tiebreaker against Liberty's Josh Wilson in the draw final. When Marques outlasted Wilson for the win, he earned the first flight championship of his collegiate career.
Marques' perfect run at the UNCG Fall Invite was slightly smoother, with Marques winning all four of his matches in straight sets. Following play in Greensboro, Marques was named the AAC Men's Tennis Player of the Month for September, becoming the first Pirate to earn the award.
Marques becomes the first ECU player to be ranked in the ITA singles poll since Joran Vliegen was No. 28 in the final poll of the 2013-14 season. He is just the third ECU player to be ranked in the country's top-125, joining Vliegen and Miles Holvoet.
The Pirates will begin the dual match portion of their schedule on Jan. 24 when they host North Carolina Central at the ECU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
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