Hernandez Cortes reaches ITA All-American Round of 16

Bryan Hernandez Cortes advanced to the Round of 16 at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while Raphael Vaksmann recorded a consolation-bracket victory during the tournament.

Hernandez Cortes entered the tournament ranked 63rd nationally and opened with a straight-set victory over No. 23 Alexander Razeghi of Stanford. In the Round of 32, the junior defeated Florida’s Henry Jefferson, the nation’s No. 39 player, in three sets.

Hernandez Cortes then lost in the Round of 16 to Keegan Rice of Virginia, who went on to win the tournament. In the consolation bracket, Hernandez Cortes defeated Ohio State’s Preston Stearns, the country’s No. 12 player, in three sets. After dropping the first set 6-2, he won the next two sets 6-4.

Vaksmann began in the qualifying bracket and lost his opening-round match to Illinois’ Jeremy Zhang. The sophomore then defeated Wake Forest’s Joaquin Guilleme, who was ranked 73rd nationally, in the consolation bracket.

The results gave Hernandez Cortes seven career victories at the ITA All-American Championships and Vaksmann two. Both Bulldogs have six ranked wins in their careers in Starkville.

Source: Mississippi State Athletics.