Oct. 20, 2002

Freshman Alex Hume won a pair of matches Sunday, both by the score of 6-4, 6-1, to claim the title in the B-1 singles bracket at the USC Fall Invitational in Columbia, S.C. Sophomore Evan Austin was unable to get by his semifinals opponent in the A-1 draw.

Hume, a native of Alexandria, Va., defeated Liran Kling from the College of Charleston, the No. 2 seed in the draw, in the semifinals Sunday morning and then turned around to beat Winthrop’s Gary Kilduff in the finals. Hume’s fall record is now 11-4. He has won 10 of his last 11 matches.

“This was a great win for Alex,” Coach Dennis Emery said. “After advancing to the semifinals of the Louisville Invitational a couple weeks ago, I knew it was just a matter of time before he got his first tournament title. He’s playing really well right now.”

Austin won his first three matches in the A-1 draw to advance to the semifinals Sunday. After winning the first set 6-2 against East Tennessee’s Diego Iglesias, Austin fell down a break in the second set and Iglesias won 6-4. Iglesias used the momentum from the second set to take the third 6-3.

Sunday’s Results

A-1 Singles

Diego Iglasius (ETSU) def. Evan Austin – 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 – Semifinals
B-1 Singles

Alex Hume def. Liran Kling (Coll. of Charleston) – 6-4, 6-1 – Semifinals
Alex Hume def. Gary Kilduff (Winthrop) – 6-4, 6-1 – Finals

Hume’s Title Run

Friday – Hume def. Nasir Sherazi (USC) – 6-2, 3-1 (ret.) – Round of 32
Saturday – Hume def. Nick Neal (UNC-Asheville) – 6-2, 6-1 – Round of 16
Hume def. Soufien Rechag (Charleston Southern) – 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 – Quarterfinals
Sunday – Hume def. Liran Kling (Coll. of Charleston) – 6-4, 6-1 – Semifinals
Hume def. Gary Kilduff (Winthrop) – 6-4, 6-1 – Finals