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Omaha Stuns Nebraska; Wake Waltzes Past Oklahoma; Texas A&M Edges Rice; Michigan Mashes the Tide

by | Jan 22, 2017 | Blog

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The University of Nebraska Omaha started its tennis program in 2008 and after playing in Division II for four years it made the transition to Division I during the 2011-12 season. Since the D1 transition Omaha had only won three conference matches in the lower-tier Summit League, with all three coming against Western Illinois which dropped its struggling program last year, and they’d never come close to defeating a team from a Power 5 Conference going 0-16 while getting outscored 94-4. So when Omaha made the short trip to Lincoln today to play Nebraska it knew the odds were stacked against it but somehow, someway, it managed to do the previously impossible and pull off the biggest win in program history.  

Omaha got off to a quick start and swept all three doubles courts to take the early 1-0 lead but Nebraska came back strong in singles and claimed four opening sets. Nebraska went ahead 2-1 with straight set wins from Dylan Bednarczyk and Micah Klousia at No. 2 and No. 5 and then Tomislav Antoljak put them a point away with a three set win at No. 3. Omaha freshman Louis-Jonas Heizlsperger came back from a set down to win in three sets at No. 6 and then freshman Razvan Grigorescu closed out Toby Boyer in three sets at No. 1 to tie up the match at 3-3. As a side note Grigorescu also defeated Oklahoma’s Spencer Papa last week so it appears the Mavs have a legitimate No. 1. 

The decider would come at No. 4 between Omaha senior Colin Buckley and Nebraska freshman David Samardzija. Samardzija took the first set 6-3 but Buckley squeezed out the second set in a tiebreak.  Buckley jumped out to a break lead in the third but Samardzija got it back on serve at 3-2. It stayed on serve until Samardzija broke for a 5-4 lead but Buckley broke back, held, and broke again to win it 3-6, 7-6, 7-5. Huge congrats to third year coach Tyson Thomas and his young squad.  

 

 

Post-Match Quotes from Omaha’s recap
“The guys started off great in doubles,” said head coach Tyson Thomas. “I’m pleased to see those teams taking shape so early in the season.”
 
“Closing out the match by winning three of the four singles matches showed a lot of grit,” said Thomas. “Reminiscent of last year, Colin battled through a tight third set and clinched the match. The team has put in a lot of work, and it showed in the results today.
 
Post-Match Quotes from Nebraska’s recap
“It was a tough loss today, and I got to give UNO credit as we knew before the match started it would be a dogfight with Chris Dean out of the lineup due to a concussion over the Christmas Break,” McDermott said. “They played really good doubles and took it to us on all three courts which was disappointing because this week we concentrated on some doubles combinations and some good doubles practices. I thought our team competed very well after losing the doubles point, and we won the first set in four of the six singles matches but couldn’t finish especially late in the match with our No. 4 guy serving to win the match for a team victory.
 

“I think today we improved a lot from what I saw this fall as a team and must continue to work hard and learn from today. The good thing is it’s just the start of the season and if we can get Chris back in the lineup, it gives us a big boost as we continue to move toward Big Ten play come middle of March.”

Omaha 4, Nebraska 3
January 21, 2017 at Lincoln, NE (Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center)
Doubles Results
1. Razvan Grigorescu/Colin Buckley (UNO) def. Dylan Bednarczyk/David Samardzija (NEB) 6-1
2. Nathan Reekie/Matt Dunn (UNO) def. Toby Boyer/Micah Klousia (NEB) 6-4
3. Alex Woodward/Louis-Jonas Heizlspeger (UNO) def. Rok Krizaj/ Tomislav Antoljak (NEB) 6-3
Singles Results
1. Razvan Grigorescu (UNO 13.00*) def. Toby Boyer (NEB 12.91) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
2. Dylan Bednarczyk (NEB 12.30) def. Matt Dunn (UNO 11.28) 6-3, 6-3
3. Tomislav Antoljak (NEB 12.49) def. Nathan Reekie (UNO 11.27) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Colin Buckley (UNO 11.11) def. David Samardzija (NEB 11.94) 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5
5. Micah Klousia (NEB 12.10) def. Alex Woodward (UNO 10.92) 6-3, 6-3
6. Louis-Jonas Heizlsperger (UNO 10.97**) def. Rok Krizaj (NEB 12.26) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
Match Notes:
Omaha 1-1
Nebraska 0-1
Order of finish; Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,5,3,6,1,4)
T-3:05 A-55

* UTR reliability 57%/** UTR reliability 12%

 

  
The last time Wake Forest and Oklahoma met in a dual-match (NCAA Sweet 16) OU wiped Wake off the court but today was a new day and a completely different story. Wake took the early 1-0 lead after taking the doubles point and then they jumped on Oklahoma in singles by going up early breaks on four of six courts. Skander Mansouri, Borna Gojo, Christian Seraphim, and Dennis Uspensky each won in straight sets while Petros Chrysochos and Alan Gadjiev came back from a set down to win in three. Chrysochos trailed Andrew Harris 6-3, 5-3 before rallying at No. 1. Wake has now defeated Oklahoma three times in the last 12 months with each of those wins coming indoors while Oklahoma won the one outdoor encounter. 
 
Post-Match Quotes from OU’s recap
“Wake Forest played a really good match today and you have to give them credit,” Oklahoma head coach Nick Crowell said. “We have to focus on getting better each day, doing the little things well and those points will come. We have a big week coming up and are turning our attention to Michigan on Saturday.”
 
#2 Wake Forest 7, #12 Oklahoma 0
Jan 20, 2017 at Winston-Salem, N.C. (Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #1 Petros Chrysochos (WF 14.66) def. Andrew Harris (OU 14.76) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (10-8)
2. #4 Skander Mansouri (WF 14.25) def. #18 Spencer Papa (OU 14.27) 6-4, 6-4
3. Borna Gojo (WF 14.47) def. Alex Ghilea (OU 14.17) 6-3, 6-4
4. #21 Christian Seraphim (WF 14.07) def. #118 Florin Bragusi (OU 14.00) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
5. Dennis Uspensky (WF 13.68) def. Adrian Oetzbach (OU 12.57) 6-3, 6-2
6. #122 Alan Gadjiev (WF 13.54) def. Jochen Bertsch (OU 13.19) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
Doubles competition
1. #1 Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (WF) def. Andrew Harris/Spencer Papa (OU) 6-3
2. Borna Gojo/Alan Gadjiev (WF) vs. Alex Ghilea/Florin Bragusi (OU) 4-5, unfinished
3. Petros Chrysochos/Dennis Uspensky (WF) def. Jochen Bertsch/Adrian Oetzbach (OU) 6-4
Match Notes
Oklahoma 2-1; National ranking #12
Wake Forest 3-0; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,5,3,4,6,1)
Official: Matthew Dolge T-2:29 A-280
 
 
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Sixteenth ranked Texas A&M opened up its season on Saturday afternoon in Houston and found itself in a street fight with Rice. Texas A&M’s Aleksandre Bakshi and AJ Catanzariti won 6-2 at No. 2 doubles but Rice’s David Warren and Tommy Bennett (ITA #9) defeated Arthur Rinderknech and Max Lunkin (ITA #7) 6-4 at No. 1. The doubles point was decided in a tiebreak at No. 3 between Rice’s Eric Rutledge/Jake Hansen and Texas A&M’s Jordi Arconada/James Martell. Arconada and Martell led 5-3 but Rutledge and Hansen won the final four points to take it 7-5. 
 

 
Texas A&M regrouped in singles and took opening sets at the bottom four spots while Rice took the opening sets at the top two. Rice’s Jamie Malik closed out No. 2 in straight sets while Texas A&M’s Max Lunkin and Aleksandre Bakshi won in straight sets at No. 3 and No. 4. Texas A&M freshman Valentin Vacherot gave the Aggies its first lead of the day with a three set win at No. 6 but Rice’s David Warren tied it back up with a three set win at No. 5.
 
Texas A&M junior Arthur Rinderknech dropped the opening set to Rice senior Tommy Bennett but after taking the second he jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead in the third set. Bennett kept it close but Rinderknech wouldn’t let up on his serve and he served out the match from 40/15 to win it 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
 

 
  
 
Post-Match Quotes from Texas A&M’s recap
“As expected I knew this would be a nail biter especially on the road,” head coach Steve Denton said. “I am very proud of how our guys fought back and you have to give Rice a lot of credit for how well they played today. They were well prepared and fed off a huge crowd today. I believe they will have a very good season as they are solid in singles and doubles, top to bottom.”
 

“At the break, we talked about focusing on the man across the net and just winning with a lot of heart. We were really pleased with Max and Aleksandre today. They really gave us a lot of momentum putting points on the board in straight sets. The French connection [Rinderknech & Vacherot] both came through for us when we needed the most. Great start to the season for our team. Couldn’t be prouder!”

 
#16 Texas A&M 4, Rice 3
January 21, 2017 at Houston, TX (George R. Brown Tennis Center)
Doubles Results
1. No. 9 David Warren & Tommy Bennett (Rice) def. No. 7 Arthur Rinderknech & Max Lunkin (TAMU), 6-4
2. Aleksandre Bakshi & AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Jamie Mailk & Oscar Janglin (Rice), 6-2
3. Eric Rutledge & Jake Hansen (Rice) def. Jordi Arconada & James Martell (TAMU), 7-6(5)
Singles Results
1. No. 16 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU 14.66) def. Tommy Bennett (Rice 13.36) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Jamie Malik (Rice 13.23) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU 13.79) 6-3, 6-3
3. Max Lunkin (TAMU 13.70) def. Jake Hansen (Rice 13.67) 7-5, 6-0
4. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU 13.39) def. Eric Rutledge (Rice 13.49) 6-3, 6-4
5. David Warren (Rice 13.69) def. Jordi Arconada (TAMU 13.48) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU 13.98) def. Oscar Janglin (Rice 13.13) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
Match Notes:
Rice: 2-1
Texas A&M 1-0; National ranking #16
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3); Singles (2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 1)
__________________________________________________________
 
The College MatchDay series kicked off tonight in Orlando and in front of 1039 fans and a national ESPN3 audience No. 21 Michigan steamrolled Alabama 4-0. Michigan got a quick 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles and then after three consecutive breaks Tyler Gardiner and Myles Schalet closed out the match at No. 3 doubles by a 6-4 score. Michigan jumped on Alabama in singles by taking lopsided sets at 3, 4, 5, and 6 and ultimately Myles Schalet, Alex Knight, and Davis Crocker would win in straight sets with Crocker clinching the match at No. 6. 
 
You can watch the full ESPN3 replay of this match at this link. 
 

 
Post-Match Comments from Alabama head coach George Husack – “Good match by Michigan, They were the better squad. We’re a very young team and it showed a bit tonight. A young colt takes a while to find its way in the world. We will grow and become more seasoned as they year moves along. I really like the path that we are on, and it’s only going to get better with this rock solid stable that we have.”
 

“I’d like to thank USTA for an outstanding job putting together a special night for the Lake Nona community and National Campus. Special thanks to Tim Cass, Stephen Amritraj, Virgil Christian, Scott Treibly and all the USTA support staff for this event. College tennis needs more moments and opportunities like these.”

 
#21 Michigan 4, Alabama 0
January 21, 2017 at Orlando, FL (USTA National Campus Collegiate Center)
Singles competition
1. No. 63 Mazen Osama (Alabama) vs. Jathan Malik (Michigan) 6-3, 5-5 DNF
2. No. 50 Kevin Wong (Michigan) vs. No. 78 Thibault Cancel (Alabama) 7-6(4), 1-1 DNF
3. Myles Schalet (Michigan) def. Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) 6-1, 6-2
4. Runhao Hua (Michigan) vs. Spencer Richey (Alabama) 6-1, 3-4 DNF
5. Alex Knight (Michigan) def. Edson Ortiz (Alabama) 6-2, 6-2
6. Davis Crocker (Michigan) def. Langford Hills (Alabama) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. No. 32 Spencer Richey/Mazen Osama (Alabama) vs. No. 6 Jathan Malik/Kevin Wong (Michigan) 5-5 DNF
2. Alex Knight/Runhao Hua (Michigan) def. Edson Ortiz/Alexey Nesterov (Alabama) 6-1
3. Tyler Gardiner/Myles Schalet (Michigan) def. Thibault Cancel/Zhe Zhou (Alabama) 6-4
Match Notes:
Michigan 1-0
Alabama 2-1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,3,6)
___________________________________________________________
 
Other Saturday Men’s Results:
 
  • #11 Florida opened up its season with a pair of 7-0 wins over Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State. 
  • #14 Oklahoma State kicked off its season with a 7-0 win over Oral Roberts and a 6-1 win over Texas Rio Grande Valley.
  • #10 USC won a pair of matches on Saturday defeating UC Riverside 7-0 and UC Irvine 6-1. 
  • #22 Baylor rolled over Incarnate Word and Grand Canyon 7-0
  • #18 Stanford played indoors for the second day in a row and pulled out a 4-2 win over BYU. 
  • #7 UCLA dropped the doubles point to UC Santa Barbara before rallying to win five of six singles matches with Gage Brymer clinching in a third set at No. 1.
  • #20 Mississippi State opened up with a 5-2 road win over San Diego State – all singles matches finished in straight sets
  • Pepperdine opened its season with a 7-0 win over Loyola Marymount
  • Indiana picked up a pair of wins in Hanover first defeating Bryant 4-0 then defeating Dartmouth 6-1 
  • Texas Tech rebounded from last week’s loss to Central Florida with a 5-2 win over Wichita State.
  • Denver won on the road at Boise State 5-2

 

Notable Women’s Results

  • #16 South Carolina won at North Florida 4-0 and then beat Florida A&M 4-0  
  • #2 North Carolina blanked Ball State and UNC Greensboro 7-0
  • #23 Virginia opened up its season with a close 4-3 win over Boston College – Hunter Bleser clinched 6-4 in the third at No. 6. 
  • #5 Oklahoma State rolled North Texas 7-0 
  • #19 LSU smoked Northwestern State and Southern 7-0
  • #15 Auburn opened its season with a 7-0 win over Samford
  • #25 UCLA defeated Loyola Marymount 5-2 – UCLA 5-0 before LMU won the final two. 
  • Washington came back from a 3-0 deficit on the road at Alabama to win 4-3 with Kenadi Hance winning the deciding 7-6(4) in the third. 
  • Marshall took it to Wisconsin winning 12 of 14 sets in a 7-0 win. 
  • Northwestern cruised past Harvard 6-1 winning five singles matches in straight sets. 
  • UT Arlington opened up its season with a 4-2 win at Houston. 
  • Pitt won the Backyard Brawl over West Virginia 6-1 – just about every set was close. 
  • Syracuse came back from a 3-1 deficit to pick up a 4-3 road win at Yale. 
 
 
Sunday Schedule:
 
Men:
VCU Shootout – 4 singles & 1 doubles – counts as a dual-match – Live Scoring for all matches
M: Temple at VCU (10 a.m. ET) 
M: George Mason at VCU (2 p.m. ET) 
 
M: Auburn at Central Florida (9 a.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video (select USTA Natl Campus Collegiate Ctr)
M: Monmouth at NC State (10 a.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
M: Furman vs. San Francisco (Harvard – 10 a.m. ET) – Furman Twitter/Video $ ILDN
M: Georgia Southern at Florida State (11 a.m. ET) – Live Scoring
M: Presbyterian at East Carolina – (11 a.m. ET) – Presb Twitter
M: Buffalo at Brown (12 p.m. ET) – Buffalo Twitter
M: Tennessee at Georgia Tech (12 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Tennessee Blog
M: Louisville at #13 Northwestern (12 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video $
M: TN-Chattanooga at #9 North Carolina (12:30 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
M: Notre Dame at #15 Kentucky (1 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
M: Elon vs. Monmouth (Raleigh – 1 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
M: Penn at Vanderbilt (1 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
M: #4 Texas at #19 Arkansas (1 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
M: UT Arlington at Rice (1 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
M: Montana State at Oregon (1 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
M: Old Dominion at Harvard (2 p.m. ET) – Harvard Twitter/Video $ ILDN
M: LSU at Memphis (2 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
M: Eastern Illinois at Ball State (2 p.m. ET) – Ball State Twitter
M: North Dakota at Minnesota (2 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
M: North Florida at Miami FL (2 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
M: Eastern Washington at Santa Clara (3 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
M: Gonzaga at Washington (3 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
M: Nevada at Pacific (4 p.m ET) – Live Scoring
M: #7 TCU at Tulsa (4 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
M: Elon at NC State (4:30 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
M: Georgia State at Vanderbilt (5 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
M: Illinois State at #19 Arkansas (5 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
M: IUPUI at #13 Northwestern (5 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video $
M: NJIT at Harvard (6 p.m. ET) – Harvard Twitter/Video $ ILDN
M: Prairie View A&M at Rice (6 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
M: Citadel at #9 North Carolina (6 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
M: Utah State at Oregon (6 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
 
Women:
W: Army at Cornell (9 a.m. ET) – Cornell Twitter
W: Evansville at Purdue (9 a.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
W: Tulane at Eastern Kentucky (10 a.m. ET) – Tulane Twitter
W: Wake Forest at Tennessee (10 a.m. ET) – Live Scoring
W: Eastern Michigan at Michigan State (10 a.m. ET) – Live Scoring
W: Western Michigan at Notre Dame (10 a.m. ET) – Live Scoring
W: SIU-Edwardsville at Drake (11 a.m. ET) – Live Scoring
W: Syracuse at Columbia (11 a.m. ET) – Columbia Twitter
W: West Virginia at Penn State (11 a.m. ET) – Live Scoring
W: Louisiana-Monroe at #15 Auburn (11 a.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
W: UC Davis at #22 Arizona State (1 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
W: UTRGV at Baylor (1 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video/Blog
W: UAB at #24 Mississippi State (2 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
W: Cleveland State at Michigan State (2 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
W: Xavier at Purdue (3 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video
W: Wright State at Notre Dame (3 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
W: McNeese State at Baylor (4:30 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video/Blog
W: Colorado at Colorado State (5 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
W: Chattanooga at Tennessee (5:30 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring
W: Georgia State at #15 Auburn (7 p.m. ET) – Live Scoring/Video