Eastern Florida State College men's tennis player Frederik Oervad has qualified to play in the ITA Cup event in Rome, Georgia Oct. 11-14.

Oervad landed one of the at-large bids after his runner-up finish at the ITA Regional Championships in Tifton, Georgia last weekend.

"It is great to get an opportunity to play some more matches and play some good players and make it to the final," Oervad said. "I had a good weekend with a lot of long matches. I have gotten some confidence from these tournaments and I can take that into this tournament and do even better."

The freshman from Denmark has accumulated a 7-1 record this fall in two tournaments and believes those matches will help him when he competes in Rome.

"We played some good Division I and Division II players in our first tournament and I was able to do well so I feel confident and just have to work on keeping my focus. I didn't play my best tennis in the regional final so to get another chance is unbelievable to me," Oervad said.

Oervad is one of eight junior college players vying for a spot in the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, where they will compete in the same tournament as the nation's top Division I players.

Unlike past years, a player from Division I, Division II, NAIA and Junior College will each earn a spot in the national championships which will take place Nov. 7-11 at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona.

Assistant men's tennis coach Brandon Stokes believes Oervad's hard work will lead to him finding success against some of the best collegiate players.

"You can see how much he loves the game, he puts so much into training and takes care of himself. When it is time to perform, he is ready and has a fighting attitude on the court because it means so much to him," Stokes said.

After Oervad returns from Georgia, the men's tennis team will compete at The Juan Varon Wildcat Invitational Oct. 26-28 in Daytona Beach.