Every year there are a handful of teams that play their way into the NCAA Tournament and after Baylor’s performance today we can add another team to that list. Baylor came in to today’s match against Oklahoma State firmly on the bubble and most likely needed a win to earn its spot in the NCAAs.
Due to the inclement weather the match was moved indoors and since there was a log-jam of matches to be played they played singles first. Oklahoma State won the regular season meeting less than two weeks ago in a match that was played indoors in Stillwater so you figured they had to feel pretty confident about their chances.
Oklahoma’s State’s Jurence Mendoza cruised past Baylor’s Tyler Stayer 6-2, 6-0 at No. 6 but it’d be another 45 minutes before another final came in.
Baylor’s Max Tchoutakian dropped the first set to Arjun Kadhe at No. 2 but he broke Kadhe to go up 5-3 in the second. Kadhe would break back and then hold on the deciding point for 5-5 but Tchoutakian would then hold and break to take the second set 7-5. Tchoutakian raced out to a 5-0 lead in the third and ended up serving it out two games later to take it 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Baylor freshman Tommy Podvinski pulled off by far the biggest shocker of the day when he came back from a set down to defeat Lukas Finzelberg at No. 5. Podvinski came into the match with a 7-12 dual-match record with all his wins over teams that were ranked outside the top 100 plus Finzelberg had just beaten him 6-4, 6-1 two week prior. Finzelberg took the opening set 6-1 but Podvinski refused to go away this time. Podvinski went up an early break in the second and then broke again to take the set 6-3. Podvinski broke Finzelberg to go up 3-1 in the third and then held on from there to take it 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Baylor senior Julian Lenz would put the Bears up 3-1 with a three-set win over Julian Cash at No. 1. Lenz broke Cash to go up 2-1 in the first and ended up taking the opening set 6-3. In the second set Cash broke Lenz to go up 5-4 but Lenz would break back to even it at 5-5. Cash came right back and broke for 6-5 and then served out the set to take it 7-5. Cash broke Lenz to start the third set but Lenz broke back on the deciding point and then held for 2-1. It was all holds until Lenz broke Cash on the deciding point to win it 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Less than a minute after Lenz’s win, Oklahoma State’s Lucas Gerch would knock off Felipe Rios at No. 3 to cut the deficit to 3-2. Rios took the opening set 6-2 but Gerch came back to get the second 6-3. The third set was all holds and would go to a tiebreak to decide it. Both guys had mini-break leads but ultimately Gerch would take the tiebreak 9-7.
So it all came down to the final match at No. 4 between Baylor freshman Jimmy Bendeck and Oklahoma State sophomore Tristan Meraut. A Bendeck win would give Baylor the win but if Meraut won the teams would come back on the court to play the doubles point.
Meraut looked like he had the first set in the bag after going up 5-2 but as I mentioned above Bendeck came all the way back to take the opening set 7-6(8). The second set also went to a tiebreak and after trailing 3-0 Bendeck would come back and take a 6-4* lead. Meraut would fight off both match points to even it at 6-6 before a Bendeck ace put him back in front 7-6. Meraut would fight off a third match point to even it at 7-7 and then he went ahead 8-7. Bendeck evened it at 8-8 but Meraut took the next two to take the tiebreak 10-8.
The third set stayed on serve until Bendeck broke at love to go up 5-4. Bendeck would then hold from 40-15 to give Baylor the dramatic 4-2 win.
1. #16 Julian Lenz (BU) def. #52 Julian Cash (OSU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
2. #99 Max Tchoutakian (BU) def. Arjun Kadhe (OSU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
3. Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Felipe Rios (BU) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
4. Jimmy Bendeck (BU) def. Tristan Meraut (OSU) 7-6 (10-8), 6-7 (8-10), 6-4
5. Tommy Podvinski (BU) def. Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. Tyler Stayer (BU) 6-2, 6-0
1. #80 Max Tchoutakian/Tommy Podvinski (BU) vs. #8 Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe (OSU) no result
2. Felipe Rios/Jimmy Bendeck (BU) vs. Jurence Mendoza/Lucas Gerch (OSU) no result
3. Julian Lenz/Tyler Stayer (BU) vs. Tristan Meraut/Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) no result
“Well, boy it was close. We had some match points at No. 3. Their guy is just really tough there and did a great job of scratching out the three-set win in the tiebreaker. We had some match points at No. 4 in the second set that we didn’t get, so what a credit to Oklahoma State to fight off all those match points that we had. Sometimes you get to the third set after you’ve had all those opportunities and you go a little flat. Jimmy [Bendeck] was almost in the same situation when we were here two weeks ago when he lost the third set, 6-0. He was playing the same guy and played in a very similar situation. We talked a lot about it, and I was really proud of him. He was able to have the relaxed intensity he needed to play some of his best tennis.” — head coach Matt Knoll on the quarterfinal win
“It says we have a lot of good players that have come through here, and it’s a credit to those guys. We’ve had a lot of good guys that have believe in the program and have committed themselves to getting better. I’m lucky to have been around when it’s happened.” — Knoll on reaching the program’s 19th semifinal appearance in 20 seasons
“We’ve played them twice this year, and lost to them twice. They’ve had a great season and are conference champions, so we’ve got a big match in front of us. A big task. It’s going to be tough, but we’re in an underdog role. We’ve got nothing to lose, and we’re going to come out and take our swings and have some fun.” — Knoll on facing top-seed Texas Tech tomorrow
The first Big 12 quarterfinal of the day between Oklahoma and Texas also had some excitement. Due to the weather the start time was moved up from an already early 9 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. with singles action getting started first. Oklahoma’s Andrew Harris did not play so it was back the old lineup that they used for most of the season.
Texas got off to a really slow start in singles with only Harrison Scott claiming a first set at No. 2. Oklahoma’s Florin Bragusi put up the first point of the day with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Rodrigo Banzer at No. 4 and shortly thereafter Andre Biro would make it 2-0 with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Julian Zlobinsky at No. 6.
Oklahoma senior Axel Alvarez became the school’s all-time wins leader after defeating George Goldhoff 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1. The win was Alvarez’s 116th career singles wins and 213th overall win.
Texas freshman Harrison Scott put the Longhorns on the board with a 6-1, 7-6(6) win over Alex Ghilea at No. 3. Scott hadn’t played lower than No. 2 all season so I was a little surprised to see him play that low.
Oklahoma freshman Maxime Mora would clinch the win after coming back from 5-2 down in the third to defeated Texas senior Michael Riechmann 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. The match at No. 2 was abandoned with Texas sophomore Adrian Ortiz leading Spencer Papa 4-2 in the third.
Next up for Oklahoma is a rematch with TCU – TCU got a bye into the semifinals.
#10 Oklahoma 4, #18 Texas 1
Apr 29, 2016 at Stillwater, Oklahoma (Greenwood Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. #25 Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) def. #59 George Goldhoff (UT) 6-3, 6-3
2. #91 Spencer Papa (OU) vs. Adrian Ortiz (UT) 6-2, 4-6, 2-4, unfinished
3. Harrison Scott (UT) def. #81 Alex Ghilea (OU) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
4. #51 Florin Bragusi (OU) def. Rodrigo Banzer (UT) 6-2, 6-2
5. Maxime Mora (OU) def. Michael Riechmann (UT) 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
6. Andre Biro (OU) def. Julian Zlobinsky (UT) 6-0, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. George Goldhoff/Michael Riechmann (UT) vs. #21 Spencer Papa/Alex Ghilea (OU) no result
2. Adrian Ortiz/Julian Zlobinsky (UT) vs. Axel Alvarez Llamas/Austin Siegel (OU) no result
3. John Mee/Harrison Scott (UT) vs. Maxime Mora/Andre Biro (OU) no result
Match Notes:
Texas 17-10, 1-4 Big 12; National ranking #18
Oklahoma 14-9, 3-2 Big 12; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (4,6,1,3,5)
“Singles first is probably an advantage for us, head coach John Roddick said. “We can just come out and start from 0-0 and do our best part which is singles. Our guys did a good job. They were focused and even the point we lost, Alex (Ghilea) fought like crazy and was in a position to win the second set. Max (Mora) came back from 5-2 in the third and Spencer (Papa) kept forcing break points. Even in the matches that were tough there were a lot of good things that you want to see.
“It feels good (become OU’s all-time wins leader), Alvarez said. “Right now maybe I don’t appreciate it that much, but it is something that will be there for a long time I hope. I am just proud of it. I’ve had a good run here.
“He (Mora) started really sticking with the game plan and didn’t get frustrated when things didn’t go his way, Roddick said. “All of a sudden he got on a roll and settled into a rhythm. When your guy is serve-and-volley it’s all about rhythm. He started to get what he wanted there and that was nice to see.
“Last time we played (TCU) it was a coin toss at 4-3, Alvarez said. “I think we will have opportunities. We are two very good teams so we just have to come out with more intensity and want it more than they do.
“If we play singles like we did today, and the doubles point is so short, we’ll be in position to win a lot of points, Roddick said. “We’ll see how it goes.
Post-Match Quotes from head coach Michael Center via Texas’s recap
Oklahoma played very well. I thought they got on top of us early. We had chances there to push back and get into the match and we just didn’t capitalize today. They just outplayed us. We struggled to finish a match. We had opportunities to split sets at some spots and we didn’t get the job done. It’s a credit to them (Oklahoma). We’ve got two weeks now to get ready and wait for our NCAA Championships draw. Most likely we’ll be heading over to College Station (Texas A&M) to play (NCAA first/second rounds). Whoever we play, we’ll be ready to go. The guys have done a good job this year, but that one was a little disappointing. I thought we could have capitalized on our opportunities a little better today.
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The top four seeds at the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis each moved on to the semifinals with Illinois facing the biggest challenge of the group.
Penn State upset Illinois just seven days ago but today it was the Illini that was able to pull out a 4-2 win. Illinois won the doubles point when Jared Hiltzik an Pengxuan Jiang took the deciding match at No. 2 in a tiebreak but Penn State battled back to take four opening sets in singles.
Both of the Hiltzik brothers picked up wins for Illinois with Jared defeating Constant De La Bassetiere at No. 2 while Aron beat Matt Barry at No. 3.
Penn State picked up straight set wins from Aws Laaribi and Marc Collado at No. 5 and No. 6 with Toshiki Matsuya evidently making his season debut at No. 5. The box score showed these two Penn State wins coming after the Hiltzik’s won which seems odd considering the scorelines – how can a 1 & 1 no-ad match take longer than a 7-6, 6-0 match?
Illinois sophomore Aleks Vukic cliched the match with a come from behind 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Leonard Stakhovsky at No. 1. Next up for the Illini will be a third meeting this season against state rival Northwestern.
#17 (3) Illinois 4, #35 (6) Penn State 2
April 29, 2016 (Baseline Tennis Center | Minneapolis, Minn)
Singles Competition
1. Aleks Vukic (ILLINOIS) def. Leonard Stakhovsky (PSU) 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. Jared Hiltzik (ILLINOIS) def. Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) 7-6 (3), 6-0
3. Aron Hiltzik (ILLINOIS) def. Matt Barry (PSU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Julian Childers (ILLINOIS) vs. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) 3-6, 6-2, 2-1 unfinished
5. Aws Laaribi (PSU) def. Toshiki Matsuya (ILLINOIS) 6-1, 6-1
6. Marc Collado (PSU) def. Alex Jesse (ILLINOIS) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles Competition
1. Aleks Vukic/Aron Hiltzik (ILLINOIS) def. Leonard Stakhovsky/Matt Barry (PSU) 6-2
2. Jared Hiltzik/Pengxuan Jiang (ILLINOIS) def. Christian Lutschaunig/Matt Galush (PSU) 7-6 (1)
3. Aws Laaribi/Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Julian Childers/Brian Page (ILLINOIS) 6-3
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,2,5,6,1)
“We’re happy to advance and I can’t say it was a very interesting match. I didn’t feel like Penn State was at their best. I didn’t feel like we were at our best. I don’t know what that was,” head coach Brad Dancer said. “It was not a pretty tennis match today, and, I think, when it’s not pretty, you kind of have to get down and fight and I felt Julian [Childers] did a great job of getting back in his. [Aleks] Vukic just did a good job at getting back and fighting and so forth and, when you don’t feel good and you don’t like the way things are going, you just have to get down and fight, and we did that on a couple courts, which was really great. Jared [Hiltzik] hit quadruple set point in the first set, and that was really good of him to fight out of that. It was a good fighting match from us today.”
“We had our chances but unlike last week the big points did not go our way, said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. “I want to congratulate Illinois; they played like they had a chip on their shoulder from last week. I want to congratulate the team on a terrific year so far. We have played every match, every point like it is our last and I think that we are back to where we should be. I am proud of the guys for believing in each other. Our team chemistry has helped us tremendously this year.
“This was a tough loss, said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. “We had the opportunity to take the doubles point with a win on court two. The guys competed well in singles but Illinois became too strong for the top half of the singles lineup. Marc Collado and Aws Laaribi did a great job getting us two points in their two-set matches. We will be ready for the NCAA Tournament coming up in two weeks.
“We aren’t even close to done playing tennis this year, said Coach Zinn. “I still see so much fight in these boys. They are looking forward to jumping right into the NCAA Tournament. “
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#4 (1) Ohio State 4, (9) Nebraska 0
April 29, 2016 (Baseline Tennis Center | Minneapolis, Minn – Indoors)
Singles competition
1. #1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #93 Dusty Boyer (NEB) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
2. #96 Chris Diaz (OSU) def. Marc Herrmann (NEB) 6-1, 6-2
3. #41 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) vs. Toby Boyer (NEB) 6-2, 3-5, unfinished
4. Ralf Steinbach (OSU) vs. Andrew Dzulynsky (NEB) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
5. #103 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) vs. Bradford Zitsch (NEB) 7-6 (7-4), 2-1, unfinished
6. Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Tomislav Antoljak (NEB) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Dusty Boyer/Toby Boyer (NEB) def. Mikael Torpegaard/Martin Joyce (OSU) 6-3
2. Ralf Steinbach/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Marc Herrmann/Scott Elsass (NEB) 6-4
3. Hugo Di Feo/Matt Mendez (OSU) def. Bradford Zitsch/Andrew Dzulynsky (NEB) 6-1
Match Notes:
Nebraska 14-12
Ohio State 28-2; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,6,1)
Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal Match
“It was a good win for the Buckeyes, said Director of Tennis Ty Tucker. “Any team you play in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament is going to be good. Everyone’s got scholarships and everyone’s got good players, so it was nice to get the doubles point and then go on from there.
“It was a tough match today,” said Head Coach McDermott. “Ohio State played very well and deserved the win. We improved a ton this year as a team, especially because we lost some close 4-3 matches to ranked schools early in the year. Most teams would have given up, but our team held strong and in the end we got better and ended up winning four conference matches. We will be back into next week’s ITA National Rankings which has been one of our team goals.”
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#13 (2) Northwestern 4, #53 (7) Purdue 1
April 29, 2016 (Baseline Tennis Center Minneapolis, Minn)
Singles competition
1. #20 Konrad Zieba (NU) vs. #48 Gergely Madarasz (Purdue) 7-6 (5), 3-2, unf
2. #40 Sam Shropshire (NU) def. #97 Benjamin Ugarte (Purdue) 6-1, 6-2
3. #75 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Ricky Medinilla (Purdue) 6-1, 6-0
4. Mateus Silva (Purdue) def. Fedor Baev (NU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Ben Vandixhorn (NU) vs. Dominik Sochurek (Purdue) 6-4, 6-6, unfinished
6. Alp Horoz (NU) def. Renan Hanayama (Purdue) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Strong Kirchheimer/Fedor Baev (NU) def. Dominik Sochurek/Benjamin Ugarte (Purdue) 7-5
2. Konrad Zieba/Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Gergely Madarasz/Ricky Medinilla (Purdue) 6-4
3. Alp Horoz/Mihir Kumar (NU) vs. Mateus Silva/Renan Hanayama (Purdue) 6-5 unf
Match Notes
Order of Finish: Doubles (2, 1); Singles (3, 2, 4, 6)
“It provides a lot of momentum when the top of the lineup performs like they did today,” head coach Arvid Swan said. “Purdue is an excellent team, and we just gave a great effort today.”
“We are excited for the opportunity tomorrow,” Swan said. “We will prepare like we have done for every match this year and compete at a high level.”
“From our side, we were excited to see how much he grew the past three years, Purdue head men’s tennis coach
Pawel Gajdzik said. “Mateus is a true Boilermaker at heart. He’s going to graduate with a great degree. I know he is going to be missed on this team and is always welcomed with open arms.
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#24 (4) Michigan, #72 (12) Iowa 1
April 29, 2016 (Baseline Tennis Center Minneapolis, Minn)
Singles competition
1. Josh Silverstein (UI) def. #113 Alex Knight (UM): 6-2, 6-2
2. #95 Jathan Malik (UM) vs. Lefteris Theodorou (UI): 7-5, 1-6, unf.
3. Carter Lin (UM) def. Robin Haden (UI): 6-2, 6-0
4. Runhao Hua (UM) def. Jake Jacoby (UI): 6-0, 6-2
5. Kevin Wong (UM) vs. Jonas Larsen (UI): 6-1, 5-4, unf.
6. Davis Crocker (UM) def. Dominic Patrick (UI): 6-1, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. #81 Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (UM) vs. Josh Silverstein/Lefteris Theodorou (UI): 5-2, unf.
2. Jathan Malik/Kevin Wong (UM) def. Jake Jacoby/Jonas Larsen (UI): 6-3
3. Lubomir Cuba/Gabe Tishman (UM) def. Nils Hallestrand/Dominic Patrick (UI): 6-2
Match Notes
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,4,1,6)
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San Diego and Pepperdine will meet on Saturday in the finals of the WCC Championship after San Diego blanked Portland while Pepperdine won a 4-3 thriller of BYU.
San Diego won a tight doubles point to go up 1-0 and then the Toreros picked up straight set wins from Jordan Angus, Filip Vittek, and Romain Kalaydjian.
#30 San Diego 4, Portland 0
Apr 29, 2016 at Claremont, Calif. (Biszantz Family Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #61 Uros Petronijevic (USD) vs. PERVOLARAKIS, Mike (POR) 6-2, 5-7, unfinished
2. #67 Jordan Angus (USD) def. GARCIA, Mathieu (POR) 6-1, 6-4
3. Filip Vittek (USD) def. GARCIA, Pierre (POR) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Jaan Kononov (USD) vs. WALLACE, Alex (POR) 6-2, 1-6, 2-2, unfinished
5. Romain Kalaydjian (USD) def. FAN, Felix (POR) 6-3, 6-2
6. Alexandros Araouzos (USD) vs. DONAT, Carlos (POR) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #89 Uros Petronijevic/Filip Vittek (USD) vs. GARCIA, M/PERVOLARAKIS, M (POR) 5-5, unf
2. Jordan Angus/Joshua Page (USD) def. WALLACE, Alex/ANDREASEN, Kent (POR) 7-6
3. Alexandros Araouzos/Jaan Kononov (USD) def. FAN, Felix/GARCIA, Pierre (POR) 6-3
Match Notes
Portland 16-8, 6-3
San Diego 22-7, 9-0; National ranking #30
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,3,5)
Semifinals WCC Championships
“I don’t think we have anything to be embarrassed about today,” Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. “USD is by far the best team in the conference talent-wise and just had a little bit too much for us today. We had some chances in the doubles, which would have put us in a little better position going into the singles, but they just have a little too much firepower all the way through their lineup.”
“The good news is Mike was hanging in very well at No. 1 and I feel like Alex had grabbed momentum of the third set in his match,” Gross noted. “But we just needed a few too many things to go right today for singles after we had lost the doubles point. A very good team like USD doesn’t give you those opportunities easily. Obviously we aren’t happy with the results today and that is one of the things I really like about this young team they don’t defer to anybody.”
“When we have a moment I’m sure we will sit back and look at the season and have special memories from it,” Gross added. “We are also very encouraged going forward for the next couple of years with this group intact.”
Pepperdine avenged a 4-2 regular season loss to BYU by defeating the Cougars 4-3. BYU won the doubles point with wins at 1 and 2 but Pepperdine rebounded in singles and went ahead 3-1 with wins from Jack Van Slyke, Stefan Menichella, and Gabriel Sidney at 4, 5, and 6. BYU tied it at 3-3 after Shane Monroe and Keaton Cullimore won at 1 and 2 but Pepperdine’s Pedro Iamachkine clinched the match with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3.
#61 (3) Pepperdine 4, #60 (2) BYU 3
Apr 29, 2016 at Claremont, Calif.
Singles competition
1. Shane Monroe (BYU) def. Guilherme Hadlich (PU) 6-4, 7-5
2. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) def. Lautaro Pane (PU) 6-0, 2-6, 6-3
3. Pedro Iamachkine (PU) def. Andrey Goryachkov (BYU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
4. Jack Van Slyke (PU) def. John Pearce (BYU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
5. Stefan Menichella (PU) def. Jeremy Bourgeois (BYU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Gabriel Sidney (PU) def. Aidan Carrazedo (BYU) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Shane Monroe/Andrey Goryachkov (BYU) def. Pedro Iamachkine/Stefan Menichella (PU) 6-3
2. John Pearce/Jacob Sullivan (BYU) def. Guilherme Hadlich/Jack Van Slyke (PU) 6-2
3. Lautaro Pane/Tom Hill (PU) vs. Keaton Cullmore/Jeremy Bourgeois (BYU) 5-2, unf.
Match Notes
BYU 12-10; National ranking #60
Pepperdine University 14-10; National ranking #61
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,5,4,1,2,3)
Post-Match Quotes from Pepperdine’s recap
“It’s always a relief to know that it is in my power to get the victory, said Iamachkine. “Last year, I had a lot of experience clinching matches and I know my teammates rely on me in those key moments. I enjoy that pressure and I love the battle.
“We are strongest in singles play, said Iamachkine. “With our singles guys on the court giving their best and the four guys outside the court encouraging us. It’s always a team effort and we are ready to take them.
“It feels good to win today. It feels like we got over the second bump and we have one more match left this weekend. It’s either put it all on the court or go home, and we are ready to bring out best game.
“It feels really good to win today, said Sidney. “I started playing my best tennis again today. After going down to start, I knew I had to relax and did and try to play my best tennis so that felt good.
“The two victories we’ve had the past two days have been really important to us because we had a lot of tough moments and injuries during the season, said Sidney. “We are showing the Pepperdine way by fighting through all the matches and coming out with 100 percent effort.
“Unfortunately we didn’t win the doubles point either day, but it’s just a point and a team needs four to win so we planned to go into singles aggressively and we got the victory on both days.
“We have been looking to go up against San Diego since the beginning of the tournament, Sidney said. “It was always the goal to be in the finals against them.
“We expect good things tomorrow after these last two solid wins. It built our confidence up and I think it is going to be a great match.
“We executed our game plan extremely well to win the doubles point. We knew the second half of the match would be a dog fight- and it was,” BYU head coach
Brad Pearce said. “Both teams competed extremely hard and left everything on the court. We came up a little short, but I was proud of my guys and was pleased that both teams displayed great sportsmanship. We had a good season and have a lot to be proud of, but we’ll be hungry for even better results next season.”
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It was a sad day in Wichita as both UMBC and Hartford said farewell to college tennis after each were defeated at the Missouri Valley Tournament. Both schools announced last fall that after this season they would be discontinuing the programs in a cost cutting measure.
Hartford’s farewell was quick one as they went fell to Southern Illinois in just 1 hour and 16 minutes. I was hoping to watch all three men’s matches but due to the rain they ended up sending SIU and HU to the Genesis Health Club which was about 5 miles from the Crestview Country Club.
SIU won the doubles point with routine wins at 2 and 3 and then they blitzed Hartford in singles and won easily at 1, 2, 3, and 4 with simultaneous finishes at 1 and 3.
Southern Illinois 5, Hartford 0
Apr 29, 2016 at Wichita, Kan. (Genesis Health Club)
Singles Competition
1. Jonny Rigby (SIU) def. Daniel Rombola (HARTFORD) 6-1, 6-0
2. Piotr Baranski (SIU) def. Will Drumwright (HARTFORD) 6-1, 6-2
3. Wilder Pimentel (SIU) def. Juan Molina (HARTFORD) 6-1, 6-0
4. Peter Molloy (SIU) def. Bryan Einstoss (HARTFORD) 6-1, 6-1
5. Alex Pozo (SIU) vs. Luis Montes (HARTFORD) 6-3, 2-1, unfinished
6. Daniel Martinez (SIU) vs. Harrison Max (HARTFORD) 6-1, 4-1, unfinished
Doubles Competition
1. Jonny Rigby/Piotr Baranski (SIU) vs. Daniel Rombola/Luis Montes (HARTFORD) 4-3, unf
2. Wilder Pimentel/Alex Pozo (SIU) def. Will Drumwright/Bryan Einstoss (HARTFORD) 6-2
3. Peter Molloy/Daniel Martinez (SIU) def. Juan Molina/Jairus Baker (HARTFORD) 6-1
Match Notes:
Hartford 2-16
Southern Illinois 13-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,4,1,3)
UMBC’s swan-song was by far and away the best match of the day in Wichita. Illinois State jumped out to early break leads at 2 and 3 and ended up winning those courts 6-2 and 6-4.
Each team won two first sets at the four-court facility and ultimately that was completed would finish in straight sets.
UMBC’s Melker Svard won 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2 but ISU’s Christoffer Greve answered with a 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 4. UMBC’s Alex Drean tied the match at 2-2 with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3 but ISU’s Urh Krajnc Domiter answered with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 1.
UMBC’s Biyik Akinshemoyin was serving for the match up 6-1, 5-0 (40-0) but before he could get that last point ISU’s Dylan Steffens clinched at No. 6 with a 6-3, 6-0 win.
Illinois State 4, UMBC 2
(Apr 29, 2016 at Wichita, Kan. — Crestview Country Club)
Singles Competition
1. Urh Krajnc Domiter (ILS) def. Justin Carter (UMBC) 7-5, 6-2
2. Melker Svard (UMBC) def. Jakub Eisner (ILS) 6-4, 6-0
3. Alex Drean (UMBC) def. Rodrigo Oliveira (ILS) 6-4, 6-4
4. Christoffer Greve (ILS) def. Eliott Loubatie (UMBC) 6-3, 7-5
5. Biyik Akinshemoyin (UMBC) vs. Andreas Boers (ILS) 6-1, 5-0, (40-0)
6. Dylan Steffens (ILS) def. Kevin Hsieh (UMBC) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles Competition
1. Melker Svardand/Eliott Loubatie(UMBC) vs. Jakub Eisner/Andreas Boers (ILS) 6-6 (0-3)
2. Christoffer Greve/Dylan Steffens (ILS) def. Justin Carter/Alex Drean (UMBC) 6-2
3. Rodrigo Oliveira/Rolando Torrellas (ILS) def. BiyikAkinshemoyin/KevinHsieh (UMBC) 6-4
Match Notes
Order of finish: Singles (2,4,3,1,6); Doubles (2,3)
Start Time: 9 a.m.
Duration: 2:50
Attendance: 0
“I’m really pleased with how we kept up the intensity and focus stemming from out last match,” said head coach Mark Klysner. “We played some solid doubles and that for sure gave us a nice advantage leading into singles. UMBC came out firing in singles and took a couple of matches off of us. The guys managed to keep their composure though. With Chris winning comfortably and Urh playing some of his better tennis all year winning at number one, it really just came down to Dylan clinching it for us. He’s been instrumental at closing out matches for us. We are really looking forward to the semifinals now.”
Drake didn’t have too much trouble in its 4-0 win over America East No. 1 seed Stony Brook. Drake took the doubles point with wins at 1 and 2 and then took three of four first sets at the four-court indoor facility. Vinny Gillespie and Calum MacGeoch each won within about 15 seconds of each other to make it 3-0 – here is match point for Gillespie.
Drake’s Tom Hands would come back from a break down in the third set to clinch the match with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Tyler Hoffman at No. 4 (sorry video clip of MP wasn’t good due to distance and lighting).
Drake 4, Stony Brook 0
Apr 29, 2016 at Wichita, Kan. (Crestview Country Club)
Singles competition
1. Lott, Ben (DU) vs. Raphael Termat (SB) 7-6, 4-3, unf.
2. Gillespie, Vinny (DU) def. Jose Morales (SB) 6-3, 6-0
3. MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Samuel Taieb (SB) 6-2, 6-1
4. Hands, Tom (DU) def. Tyler Hoffman (SB) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. Stride, Ben (DU) vs. Rodrigo Hadlich (SB) 6-3, 1-0, unf.
6. Wood, Ben (DU) vs. Kenzo Kauffmann (SB) 6-2, 1-1, unf.
Doubles competition
1. Lott, Ben/Stride, Ben (DU) def. Jose Morales/Samuel Taieb (SB) 6-3
2. Raphael Termat/Kenzo Kauffmann (SB) vs. Gillespie, Vinny/MacGeoch, Calum (DU) 5-4, unf
3. Hands, Tom/Clark, Ben (DU) def. Rodrigo Hadlich/Tyler Hoffman (SB) 6-3
Match Notes
Drake 16-11
Stony Brook 7-7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,3,4)
MVC Men’s Tennis Tournament
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Does the Baylor loss knock Okie St out, since Illinois beat NW…or does their h2h over USF keep them in and push the Bulls out?
The last two matches were offered a chance to play at Tulsa in the morning and the coaches declined that offer.
Great for TCU. Exactly! Isn't a coach supposed to do things that are great for his team?
Oh come on, maybe great for TCU but great for college tennis is a bit of a stretch. There is a lot of self promo going on there in addition to the way over inflated attendance figures.
"too much coach"…it's a gag, man. check out the interviews…the players are impersonating the coach in the interviews…they are All having a Great Time and Enjoying the Moment! They are Enjoying the Ride! Get on the Frog Train! Frog Alums, David Roditi and Devin Bowen are Great for TCU and College Tennis. Go Frogs!!
What is it about some coaches – particularly in Texas – wanting to see and hear themselves – THE COACH – not the players – on video all the time? Not the big events, but EVERY match wrap up from TCU is a video of Roditi blah blah blah or tweets of him everywhere, and Texas Tech women's is the same way – Todd Pety on video after every match, blah blah blah. Hate to open their home page to hear him again and again…Do these guys have egos that need to be stroked every match? Insecure maybe? I don't see the nation's best coaches promoting themselves after every match, they are too busy promoting their players by letting them have the spotlight. They need to turn the camera away from themselves. It is just weird.
So stupid of Big 12 to have mens and womens at the same venue. No reason why anyone with a match the next day should be playing at midnight. Huge disadvantage.
Those are the match ups but unbelievably there is no live scoring or steaming on matches played outdoors at Minnesota. Very, very disappointing for a major conference to not have its ducks in a row.
Does anyone know how to watch Big 10 Tennis Tournament? Inside court streaming worked yesterday but today isn't. Is not broadcast anywhere?<br />if not it should be NU vs Illinois and Ohio St vs Michigan are pretty good matches.