A great season for Arkansas got even better on Wednesday night when the Razorbacks beat Texas for the first time since 2004 and won in Austin for the first time since 1988. Arkansas took the doubles point by winning the deciding match at No. 1 in a tiebreak but Texas rebounded by taking four opening sets in singles.
Adrian Ortiz bum-rushed Santiago Munoz 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 and then Michael Riechmann put Texas ahead with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Adam Sanjurjo at No. 5. Arkansas’s Giammarco Micolani tied the match at 2-all with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Rodrigo Banzer at No. 4 and then Jose Salazar put the Hogs ahead with a come from behind 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Texas freshman Harrison Scott.
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| David Herrerias (Photo via Arkansas) |
Texas junior George Goldhoff picked up a big 6-2, 7-6 win over No. 32 Mike Redlicki to knot the match at 3-all.
Arkansas sophomore David Herrerias would bring it home for the Razorbacks with a 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 win over Julian Zlobinsky at No. 6. Herrerias is now 7-1 in dual-match play with his only loss coming against Jackson State when he played at No. 1 singles.
#21 Arkansas 4, #19 Texas 3
March 23, 2016 at Austin, Texas (Westwood Country Club)
Doubles Competition
1. #16 Mike Redlicki/Gimmarco Micolani (Arkansas) def. #61 M Riechmann/A Ortiz (UT), 7-6 (1)
2. Jose Salazar/Adam Sanjurjo (Arkansas) def. Julian Zlobinsky/George Goldhoff (UT), 6-4
3. Harrison Scott/John Mee (UT) def. Santiago Munoz/Johan den Toom (Arkansas), 6-2
Singles Competition
1. George Goldhoff (UT 13.65) def. #32 Mike Redlicki (Arkansas 14.21), 6-2, 7-6 (6)
2. #114 Jose Salazar (Arkansas 14.00) def. #113 Harrison Scott (UT 13.68), 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
3. Adrian Ortiz (UT 13.69) def. Santiago Munoz (Arkansas 13.08), 6-1, 6-0
4. Giammarco Micolani (Arkansas 13.13) def. Rodrigo Banzer (UT 13.38), 6-3, 6-2
5. Michael Riechmann (UT 13.14) def. Adam Sanjurjo (Arkansas 13.23), 7-6 (6), 6-4
6. David Herrerias (Arkansas 12.50) def. Julian Zlobinsky (UT 12.85), 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2
Match Notes:
Arkansas 15-4; National ranking #21
Texas 11-6; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,5,4,2,1,6)
Post-Match Quotes from Arkansas’s recap
“It’s always special for the Razorbacks to play the Longhorns, head coach Andy Jackson said. “David (Herrerias) was clutch in a very difficult and intense situation. Texas competed very hard and we were able to match it; we’re very excited to win tonight.
Post-Match Quotes from Texas’s recap
Texas head coach Michael Center – “It was a great college match. Arkansas is a really good team. It comes down to the execution in some critical moments. We lost a tough doubles point again today. We fought back, but we just came up a little bit short. We’ve been in several of these matches where we’ve come out on top and this one we came up a little bit short, but I give Arkansas credit.
I just told the guys that we’re in the stretch of the season where we’re going to be in a lot of these matches. We’ve just got to keep playing and keep going. So, my hat’s off to Arkansas, but we’ll be excited and ready to play again on Saturday against Tulsa.”
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Stanford made the 80-mile drive to Stockton and came away with a tougher than expected 4-1 win over No. 68 Pacific. Stanford took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 and then each team took three first sets in singles.
Stanford’s David Wilczynski rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2 over Daniel Alameh but Jose Chamba put Pacific on the board with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Sameer Kumar at No. 3. Chamba’s win also was a UTR upset with Kumar’s UTR 1.02 higher than Chamba’s.
Stanford’s Michael Genender and Maciek Romanowicz won in straight sets at No. 4 and No. 6 with Romanowicz clinching the win.
The other two matches were abandoned with Pacific leading at No. 1 and No. 5.
The Pacific recap said they last hosted Stanford in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament but the Cardinal were the overall No. 1 seed that year so I think their facts were a bit off.
#43 Stanford 4, #68 Pacific 1
Mar 23, 2016 at Stockton, Calif. (Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Sem Verbeek (PAC 13.62) vs. #6 Tom Fawcett (STAN 14.75) 6-1, 4-5, unfinished
2. David Wilczynski (STAN 13.76) def. Daniel Alameh (PAC 12.98) 6-1, 6-3
3. Jose Chamba (PAC 12.87) def. Sameer Kumar (STAN 13.89) 7-5, 6-2
4. Michael Genender (STAN 13.49) def. Miguel Diaz (PAC 12.63) 6-4, 6-3
5. Alex Giannini (PAC 12.16) vs. Nolan Paige (STAN 13.40) 7-6, 3-5, unfinished
6. #110 Maciek Romanowicz (STAN 13.30) def. Kumara Adavelly (PAC 11.40) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #64 Tom Fawcett/Maciek Romanowicz (STAN) def. #62 Sem Verbeek/Jose Chamba (PAC) 6-3
2. Nolan Paige/David Wilczynski (STAN) def. Daniel Alameh/Alex Giannini (PAC) 6-2
3. Miguel Diaz/Lance Ngo (PAC) vs. Sameer Kumar/Yale Goldberg (STAN) 4-5, unfinished
Match Notes
Stanford 8-6; National ranking #43
Pacific 10-8; National ranking #68
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,3,4,6)
Post-Match Quotes from Pacific’s recap
“Today was a really special day. With the ribbon cutting ceremony for all the donors and alums and with all community support out here before the match it was very, very special,” head coach Ryan Redondo said. “Unfortunately, the match didn’t go out way today but I thought we were in a position to win the match. In doubles, we came out a little slow in that really got us. Once the singles rolled out, it was really, really even. Jose did a great job to win his match and Sem was up a set and close to finishing the second set against the number six player in the country. Alex was also up a set and had opportunities to close it out. We will need to regroup and be ready as we focus on our WCC schedule, which resumes on Friday.”
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Boise State won the thriller of the day by coming back from 3-0 down to upset No. 51 UC Santa Barbara 4-3.
UCSB took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 and then the Gauchos took four first sets in singles. Cody Rakela and Oliver Sec won in straight sets at No. 5 and No. 6 to make it 3-0 but Boise State started chipping away on all the other courts.
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| Kyle Butters (Boise State Twitter) |
BSU senior Toby Mitchell came from behind to beat Morgan Mays 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 3 and senior Brian Foley pulled out a 7-6, 6-4 win over Nathan Eshmade at No. 1.
BSU senior Thomas Tenreiro won two tiebreak sets to defeat Nicolas Moreno at No. 2 and then freshman Kyle Butters won three tiebreak sets at No. 6 to clinch the win.
Boise State ended up taking six of eight set tiebreaks and that ended up being the difference.
Boise State 4, #51 UC Santa Barbara 3
Mar 23, 2016 at Santa Barbara, Calif.
Singles competition
1. Brian Foley (BSU 12.69) def. Nathan Eshmade (UCSB 13.14) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
2. Thomas Tenreiro (BSU 12.80) def. Nicolas Moreno (UCSB 13.70) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6)
3. Toby Mitchell (BSU 13.09) def. Morgan Mays (UCSB 13.01) 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
4. Kyle Butters (BSU 12.95) def. Anders Holm (UCSB 12.64) 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (5-7), 7-6 (7-3)
5. Cody Rakela (UCSB 12.65) def. Pedro Platzeck (BSU 12.52) 6-2, 6-3
6. Oliver Sec (UCSB 12.90) def. Abe Hewko (BSU 12.20) 7-6 (6-4), 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #34 Nathan Eshmade/Miles Seemann (UCSB) def. Toby Mitchell/Kyle Butters (BSU) 7-5
2. Lewis Roskilly/Thomas Tenreiro (BSU) def. Nicolas Moreno/Anders Holm (UCSB) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Morgan Mays/Andrew Riminton (UCSB) def. Brian Foley/Pedro Platzeck (BSU) 6-2
Match Notes
Boise State 10-8
UC Santa Barbara 9-5; National ranking #51
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,3,1,2,4)
Post-Match Quotes from Boise State’s recap
“You know we aren’t always pretty, but my guys have hearts of warriors and always fight win or lose,” said coach Greg Patton. “Once again we found ourselves in a hole and came fighting back to pull out the win on the final match. I love these guys and the culture they are developing putting it all out on the court for their team.”
I wonder if Florida is regretting that firing of Andy Jackson right about now.