OWENSBORO, Ky. - - The Cumberland University men's tennis team turned in a strong showing at the ITA Southeast Regional Championships, highlighted by Elvin Hashimov's run to the semifinals of the Men's Open Singles draw.

Hashimov advanced through five matches before seeing his run come to an end in the semifinal round, while Cumberland also placed two doubles teams in the Round of 16. Matheus Guarnieri and Mohamed Bouhlel, along with Arthur Fernandes and Nikoloz Gurgenidze, each advanced through their opening doubles match before falling in the Round of 16.

In singles play, Cumberland had five players advance beyond the opening round, with Hashimov leading the way with his semifinal appearance. Bouhlel advanced to the Round of 16, while Fernandes and Gurgenidze reached the Round of 32.

Cumberland's Guarnieri and Bouhlel opened the doubles draw with an 8-5 victory over Sergio Elian Walther Mereles and Jose Angle Munoz. The Phoenix duo advanced to the Round of 16, where they faced the No. 3-seeded pairing of Facundo Grasso and Tadeo David Ramirez, falling 8-1.

Fernandes and Gurgenidze also opened their tournament with a victory, defeating Guilherme Nomura and Lorenzo Urbano-Freitas 8-4. The Phoenix pairing advanced to the Round of 16 before falling 8-5 to Jose David Tobar Sanchez and David Castillo.

Hashimov and Rafael Fonseca were also paired together in doubles. The duo battled Jorge Fonseca Azpeitia and Anton Stipetic in the opening round, falling 8-7 in a closely contested match.

Hashimov put together the deepest singles run of any Phoenix player, advancing all the way to the semifinals. After opening with a victory over Gabriel Itikawa Perini, Hashimov continued his run with wins over Everett Garrett and Mateo Larrea, the No. 2 seed. Hashimov defeated Larrea 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals to book his place in the semifinals. His tournament ultimately ended against No. 3 seed Facundo Grasso, who posted a 6-0, 6-1 victory, though the freshman did incredibly well to be the only unseeded player to make it as far as he did.

Bouhlel also advanced to the Round of 16. After earning wins over José Angle Munoz and another opening-round opponent, Bouhlel faced the No. 1 seed, Lev Sholosh, in the Round of 16 and fell 6-1, 6-4.

Fernandes, the No. 7 seed, advanced to the Round of 32 after an opening-round victory before falling to Alex Tiffon 6-3, 6-2.

Gurgenidze advanced to the Round of 32 before falling to Gonzaga Lafarga 6-4, 7-5, while Guarnieri also competed in the singles draw. Cumberland will compete again in two weeks, taking part in the Knighttime UTR Invite, hosted by Marian University.