FSU sports information:
Azariah Rusher recorded a semifinals appearance at the 2024 Bedford Cup on Sunday morning.
Florida State sent four players to the Bedford Cup with Rusher, Jan Sebesta, Justin Lyons, and Elias Sumann representing the Seminoles in Gainesville.
Rusher began the tournament as a seeded player and qualified for a first round bye. He navigated through a tight second round match that saw him win a 6-3 first set before dropping the following frame by the same margin. Rusher outlasted Stetson senior Lucas Olivier in the final frame 7-5 and booked his spot in the quarterfinals.
Rusher played his way and defeated Miami’s Mehdi Sadaoui in straight sets to meet the No. 1 seed and No. 58 player in the nation, Antonio Prat. After dropping the first set 6-4, Rusher dominated the second set with a 6-2 frame to set up the third and final set to advance to the finals. Prat was able to work through and defeated Rusher and went on to win the singles orange draw.
All four Seminoles earned victories in the singles tournament. Lyons outclassed Florida Gulf Coast senior Guglielmo Stefanacci in the first round, dropping just three games in the entire match. Sebesta defeated Miami sophomore Leonardo Dal Boni in straight-sets while Sumann overcame a set deficit to defeat Florida sophomore Mattia Akcan in three grueling sets.
In the doubles tournament, the freshmen pairing of Sebesta and Sumann defeated Florida’s duo of Akcan and Francesco Cordove by four games to reach the second round where they ran into Stetson’s seeded pair and fell in the match tiebreaker. Rusher and Lyons dropped in the Round of 32.
Florida State will return home to host the ITA South Sectional Championship from November 7-10. The matches will be played at the Scott Speicher Memorial Tennis Center, draws and schedules will be announced as the tournament approaches.
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Orange Draw - Round of 32
Justin Lyons (FSU) def. Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU) 6-0, 6-3
Jan Sebesta (FSU) def. Leonardo Dal Boni (MIAMI) 7-5, 6-4
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Blue Draw - Round of 32
Elias Sumann (FSU) def. Mattia Akcan (FLA) 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Orange Draw - Round of 16
Mark Havlicek (FAU) def. Justin Lyons (FSU) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
Azariah Rusher (FSU) def. Lucas Olivier (STET) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Eder Blanco Fernandez (STET) def. Jan Sebesta (FSU) 6-4, 6-2
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Blue Draw - Round of 16
Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Elias Sumann (FSU) 6-0, 6-2
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Orange Draw - Quarterfinals
Azariah Rusher (FSU) def. Mehdi Sadaoui (MIAMI) 6-4, 6-4
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Orange Draw - Semifinals
#58 Antonio Prat (MIAMI) def. Azariah Rusher (FSU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Bedford Cup - Men’s Doubles Main Draw - Round of 32
Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith/Ben Hudson (USF) def. Azariah Rusher/Justin Lyons (FSU) 6-4
Jan Sebesta/Elias Sumann (FSU) def. Mattia Akcan/Francesco Cordova (FLA) 6-2
Bedford Cup - Men’s Doubles Main Draw - Round of 16
Marc Saura/Juan Jose Rodriguez Garceran (STET) def. Jan Sebesta/Elias Sumann (FSU) 7-6 (3)
Azariah Rusher recorded a semifinals appearance at the 2024 Bedford Cup on Sunday morning.
Florida State sent four players to the Bedford Cup with Rusher, Jan Sebesta, Justin Lyons, and Elias Sumann representing the Seminoles in Gainesville.
Rusher began the tournament as a seeded player and qualified for a first round bye. He navigated through a tight second round match that saw him win a 6-3 first set before dropping the following frame by the same margin. Rusher outlasted Stetson senior Lucas Olivier in the final frame 7-5 and booked his spot in the quarterfinals.
Rusher played his way and defeated Miami’s Mehdi Sadaoui in straight sets to meet the No. 1 seed and No. 58 player in the nation, Antonio Prat. After dropping the first set 6-4, Rusher dominated the second set with a 6-2 frame to set up the third and final set to advance to the finals. Prat was able to work through and defeated Rusher and went on to win the singles orange draw.
All four Seminoles earned victories in the singles tournament. Lyons outclassed Florida Gulf Coast senior Guglielmo Stefanacci in the first round, dropping just three games in the entire match. Sebesta defeated Miami sophomore Leonardo Dal Boni in straight-sets while Sumann overcame a set deficit to defeat Florida sophomore Mattia Akcan in three grueling sets.
In the doubles tournament, the freshmen pairing of Sebesta and Sumann defeated Florida’s duo of Akcan and Francesco Cordove by four games to reach the second round where they ran into Stetson’s seeded pair and fell in the match tiebreaker. Rusher and Lyons dropped in the Round of 32.
Florida State will return home to host the ITA South Sectional Championship from November 7-10. The matches will be played at the Scott Speicher Memorial Tennis Center, draws and schedules will be announced as the tournament approaches.
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Orange Draw - Round of 32
Justin Lyons (FSU) def. Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU) 6-0, 6-3
Jan Sebesta (FSU) def. Leonardo Dal Boni (MIAMI) 7-5, 6-4
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Blue Draw - Round of 32
Elias Sumann (FSU) def. Mattia Akcan (FLA) 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Orange Draw - Round of 16
Mark Havlicek (FAU) def. Justin Lyons (FSU) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
Azariah Rusher (FSU) def. Lucas Olivier (STET) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Eder Blanco Fernandez (STET) def. Jan Sebesta (FSU) 6-4, 6-2
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Blue Draw - Round of 16
Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Elias Sumann (FSU) 6-0, 6-2
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Orange Draw - Quarterfinals
Azariah Rusher (FSU) def. Mehdi Sadaoui (MIAMI) 6-4, 6-4
Bedford Cup - Men’s Singles Orange Draw - Semifinals
#58 Antonio Prat (MIAMI) def. Azariah Rusher (FSU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Bedford Cup - Men’s Doubles Main Draw - Round of 32
Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith/Ben Hudson (USF) def. Azariah Rusher/Justin Lyons (FSU) 6-4
Jan Sebesta/Elias Sumann (FSU) def. Mattia Akcan/Francesco Cordova (FLA) 6-2
Bedford Cup - Men’s Doubles Main Draw - Round of 16
Marc Saura/Juan Jose Rodriguez Garceran (STET) def. Jan Sebesta/Elias Sumann (FSU) 7-6 (3)
