Junior Graham Buck advanced to the semifinals with two wins on Day One of the Regional Tournament.

Junior Graham Buck advanced to the LHSAA Allstate Sugar Bowl Tennis Regionals singles semifinals on Monday, April 18 at City Park, qualifying for next week’s state tournament in the process. Buck, seeded second, dispatched opponents from Thibodaux and Holy Cross en route to a semifinal pairing against St. Augustine’s Alan Miller, the tournament’s No. 4 seed.

Sophomore Christian Lacoste, a last-minute substitute for injured junior Luke Lingle, joined Buck in qualifying for state in singles by advancing to the quarterfinals, where he lost a tough match to Trevor Romagos of Holy Cross, the No. 3 seed.

In doubles play, the Jays advanced all three teams to the semifinal round. Defending state doubles champions Jonathan and Jacob Niehaus, who didn’t drop a single game in their two opening matches, will take on teammates Jack Steib and Cristian Archaga. The Niehauses and Archaga are seniors. Steib is a junior.

In the other semifinal, senior Brandon Beck and junior Trey Hamlin, the runners-up at last year’s state tournament, will take on Brother Martin’s No. 1 doubles team.

All semifinal matches start at 9:00 a.m. The finals are slated for noon, but could start sooner by mutual agreement of coaches.