Rice was looking to win the Rice Invitational for the ninth year in a row but to achieve that feat it’d have to find a way to beat a top 10 team for the first time in 10 years. Both Rice and Texas Tech beat William & Mary and Drake on Saturday so both were playing well coming into today’s finale.
Texas Tech’s Felipe Soares and Hugo Dojas won 6-4 at No. 1 doubles but Rice’s Jake Hansen and Emanuel Llamas came back from *1-4 down to win 7-5 at No. 3. Rice’s Jamie Malik and Adam Gustafsson trailed 6-3 in the tiebreak at No. 3 but would fight off a total of five match points to win a marathon tiebreak 14-12 to give Rice the doubles point and early 1-0 lead.
Each team picked up three first sets in singles and four of the six matches would finish in straight sets. Texas Tech’s Felipe Soares rolled over Tommy Bennett 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 but David Warren put Rice back ahead with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Bjorn Thomson at No. 5. Rice’s Emanuel Llamas made it 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Connor Curry at No. 6.
Texas Tech’s Hugo Dojas trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Jamie Malik at No. 2 and Alex Sendegeya evened it at 3-3 with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Adam Gustafsson at No. 3.
The match would be decided in a third set at No. 4 between Rice freshman Jake Hansen and Texas Tech junior Jolan Cailleau. Hansen started off the third set with a hold then followed that up with a break and another hold to go up 3-0. Hansen would maintain the break lead the rest of the way and hold at love to win it 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
It was Texas Tech’s first win over a top 10 team since defeating No. 3 Texas in 2006.
The Texas Tech loss also marked the fifth time this week that a top 10 lost which is something that usually doesn’t happen very often.
#40 Rice 4, #9 Texas Tech 3
03/27/16 at Houston, Texas (George R. Brown Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #14 Felipe Soares (TT 14.02) def. Tommy Bennett (RICE 13.23) 6-2, 6-0
2. #116 Hugo Dojas (TT 13.65) def. Jamie Malik (RICE 13.01) 7-5, 6-3
3. #108 Alex Sendegeya (TT 13.62) def. Adam Gustafsson (RICE 13.54) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
“They (the Owls) brought it, all weekend long. Rice head coach Efe Ustundag said. “I told them before the match that it was 50-50 on all courts. It was a matter of heart and desire and a matter of us needing to prove that we belong up there (in the rankings). There have been so many upsets this year in college tennis and a lot of parity and it was our time. Sooner or later, if you continue to train hard and concentrate on the things we are working to improve, eventually it’s got to go your wayespecially playing at home. “
“I felt like we were tired last night when we went home, but when I saw them this morning, it felt like a rejuvenated and excited group. They fought their tails off today, he noted.
“They (Hansen/Llamas) really were not playing badly, so unless I looked at the scoreboard, it never felt like they were losing 4-1, Ustundag said. “As we started pushing, we saw some hesitation from Tech and maybe a little doubt started to creep in after they lost doubles yesterday. Whatever happened, our two young guys really took advantage of it.
“This has actually been a tough week of training for him (Llamas), because we got on to him at the start of the week, Ustundag said “He was doing some freshman-type things in terms of his preparation and how he was managing his practice assignments and we got on him early and hard. But I love how he responded to the challenge. He was playing the more physical brand of tennis we have been asking him to play, and it all just clicked. As he started to see the results, he owned the new approach and got on a roll. He just never doubted himself and that was great to see.
“We’ve been working so hard all these four years that I have been here and finally we beat a top ten team, Gustafsson said. “This means the world to me. This is what college tennis is all about. This is a huge win for us. This is what we’ve practicing for and we’re going to keep it rolling from here.
“Rice won bigger points than us today,” Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. “Rice deserved to win that match. They fought hard and kept coming at us. If we want to have success in conference play, we’ll have to do a better job of taking advantage of our opportunities.”
After being down in the dumps for years the Hogs are flying high as they continue to rack up big win after big win. On Sunday Arkansas defeated Ole Miss for the first time since 1988 after the Razorbacks won 4-3.
Ole Miss claimed the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 but Arkansas turned it around in singles taking five first sets.
Jose Salazar, Giammarco Micolani, and Adam Sanjurjo won in straight sets to put Arkansas up 3-1 and Santiago Munoz clinched the match with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win at No. 3.
Santi & the boys are PUMPED UP because just beat Ole Miss for the first time since…
They played the remaining two matches out with Ole Miss’s Gustav Hansson and Grey Hamilton each winning in three-sets to make the final score 4-3.
I can’t emphasize how great a job Andy Jackson has done this season at Arkansas because he’s taken a team from the outhouse to the penthouse. They have already won five conference matches this year after winning just ten in the previous eight years. Amazing turnaround!!!
#21 Arkansas 4, #28 Ole Miss 3
Mar 27, 2016 at Fayetteville, Ark. (Dills Indoor Courts) Singles competition
1. #104 Gustav Hansson (OM) def. #30 Mike Redlicki (AR) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. #114 Jose Salazar (AR) def. #87 Stefan Lindmark (OM) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
3. Santiago Munoz (AR) def. Filip Kraljevic (OM) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
“This win says a lot because Ole Miss has been one of the premier programs for decades, head coach Andy Jackson said. “We didn’t play our best match today but we dug deep and beat a really good team. I think it’s one of the more proud matches of the year because of what we overcame physically and emotionally.
“The clincher is always the hardest and Santiago dug hard to get over the finish line. But everyone on the team contributed, even the two guys who lost in singles extended their matches to third sets, which took some pressure off their teammates.
Quoting Head Coach Toby Hansson“Overall, we played well and competed hard, especially in the doubles. It was a very close match that could have gone either way. Small margins make the difference and we didn’t get the breaks that we needed on a couple of courts. Arkansas is tough to beat at their place and they played well.
On singles play
“Big win for Gus, he played really well against one of the top players in the country. Grey did a great job getting the first set and finishing off another win. Stefan had a chance to get the first set and Filip had break point opportunities in his first set. He did a solid job battling back to get to a third set. If we had been able to capitalize on those chances, we could have made it a lot closer in the end and given ourselves a real opportunity to win.
On returning home and getting over the hump
“It’s been a tough stretch, but we played much better today than we did in our last two matches. We are looking forward to returning home and playing in front of our fans. We will keep working hard in practice, and I know we will turn it around. We encourage everyone to come out Friday as we battle Mississippi State.
Georgia won its eighth match in a row and ran its SEC record to 6-0 with a 6-1 win over No. 18 Kentucky. The Bulldogs took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 and then they carried the momentum over to singles and took four opening sets.
Austin Smith, Paul Oosterbaan, Walker Duncan, and Nick Wood each won in straight sets with Smith clinching the win at No. 1. Georgia’s Jan Zielinski also won in three-sets at No. 5 and Kentucky got its lone point from Ryotaro Matsumura who defeated Wayne Montgomery at No. 2.
Georgia has a huge match coming up Friday night at Texas A&M while Kentucky’s only match next week is at Tennessee on Friday.
#11 Georgia 6, #18 Kentucky 1
March 27, 2016 at Athens, Ga. (Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
Singles Results
1. #35 Austin Smith (UGA) def. #27 William Bushamuka (UK) 6-3, 7-5
“I’m happy because we are performing at a very high level”, head coach Manuel Diaz said. “We are playing very consistently right now and the consistency we have shown in doubles has been tremendous. Our level of play is very high and our team is playing with a good bit of maturity. We have a big challenge coming up in Texas A&M.”
USC avoided what would be have a devastating weekend by holding on to defeat Oregon 4-3. Oregon took the doubles point with 6-4 wins at No. 2 and No. 3 and then the teams split first sets in singles.
USC got easy straight set wins from Nick Crystal and Max de Vroome at No. 1 and No. 2 while Oregon’s Jayson Amos won big at No. 4. USC’s Jack Jaede would put the Trojans ahead 3-2 with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Ethan Young-Smith at No. 6 but Oregon would have the lead on the other two courts.
Oregon’s Cormac Clissold tied the match at 3-3 with a 7-6, 7-6 win over the previously undefeated Thibault Forget at No. 5 but his teammate Simon Stevens would be unable to close out Jake DeVine at No. 3.
DeVine dropped the first set to Stevens 7-6(7) and he found himself down 5-4 in the second. DeVine held from 40-30 to even it at 5-5 and then he broke to go up 6-5. DeVine would hold from 40-30, with an ace, to take the second set 7-5.
The third set started out with four straight holds after DeVine held on the deciding point to make it 2-2. Stevens fell behind 0-40 on his next service game and after overcooking a forehand at 15-40 he’d find himself down a break at 3-2. DeVine went up 30-0 on his 3-2 service game but he netted a forehand and then double faulted to make it 30-30. Stevens then hammered a service return which forced a DeVine error and then DeVine would donate the break back to Stevens with a double fault on the next point. Stevens would hold from 40-30 to make it 4-3 and then DeVine faced a pivotal point when serving at 3-4, 30-30. DeVine had been struggling to make first serves but he hit an ace to go up 40-30 and then a Stevens forehand error gave DeVine the hold for 4-4.
Jake DeVine (USC/Dan Avila)
Stevens went up 30-15 on his next service game and then he hit a nice serve out wide and came to the net but his volley, which was headed towards the open court, caught the tape and fell back on his side to make it 30-all. DeVine would go up 30-40 after he chipped and charged on a Stevens second serve which forced Stevens to go for a backhand winner down the line. The shot just missed wide although Stevens thought he landed it but was his appeal was denied by the chair. DeVine got the break on the next point when he hit a nice crosscourt service return which caught Stevens in no man’s land and forced a Stevens error.
DeVine went up 40-15 on his 5-4 service game but he would double fault and then Stevens hit an overhead winner at the net to bring up the deciding point. Stevens choose to receive in the ad-court which suited DeVine just fine because he rocked a big serve out wide. Stevens framed the return and it sailed well long to give DeVine the cliching 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 win.
#8 USC 4, #26 Oregon 3
March 27, 2016 – Eugene, Ore. (Student Tennis Center)
Florida State had won four of its last five coming into this match with Wake Forest but the Demon Deacons weren’t having any of the upset talk and ran over FSU 6-1. Wake took the doubles point when Petros Chrysochos and Jon Ho won the decider at No. 2 in a tiebreak and then the Deacs turned up the heat in singles and took five opening sets.
Skander Mansouri, Petros Chrysochos, Christian Seraphim, and Dennis Uspensky won in straight sets while Romain Bogaerts won in three. Florida State’s lone point came from Michael Rinaldi at No. 3.
#13 Wake Forest 6, #20 Florida State 1
Mar. 27, 2016 at Tallahassee, Fla. (Indoor Tennis Facility)
Harvard, ranked No. 50, halted Old Dominion’s 12-match winning streak with a come from behind 4-3 win. Old Dominion took the doubles point with 6-3 wins at No. 2 and No. 3 but the Crimson took four opening sets in singles.
ODU’s Adam Moundir won in straights at No. 1 to put the Monarchs up 2-0 but Harvard countered with a straight set win from Kelvin Lam at No. 5. ODU’s Michael Weindl made it 3-1 with a straight set win at No. 3 but seconds later Harvard’s Andy Zhou won in straights at No. 4.
Harvard’s Sebastian Beltrame won the opening set at No. 2 but he found himself down 5-1 in the second set tiebreak against Aziz Kijametovic at No. 2. Beltrame would take the next six points to close it out 6-4, 7-6(5) and level the match at 3-3.
The match would be decided in a third at No. 6 singles between Harvard freshman Christopher Morrow and ODU sophomore Jacob Nicolussi. Nicolussi jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set but Morrow kept chipping away. Morrow held for 2-4, broke for 3-4, and then held for 4-4. Morrow would break on the deciding point to go up 5-4 and then he’d serve it out at love to take it 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Match point from court side and in the stands courtesy of HMT:
“It was a great team win today,” said associate head coach Andrew Rueb. “ODU is a strong squad and that brought out our best tennis. I’m so proud of our effort. When we compete like this, we are a hard team to handle because we are competitive in all six positions.
“Congrats to freshman Chris Morrow, who notched the final point with the match tied. He went after it and his courage was rewarded,” Rueb added.
Wisconsin ran its record to 13-1, which is its best start in program history, with come from behind 4-3 win at Nebraska. The Huskers took the doubles point and four first sets but Wisconsin fought back to force a lot of third sets.
Nebraska opened up a 3-1 lead after Dusty Boyer and Marc Hermann won at No. 1 and No. 2 while Wisconsin’s Lamar Remy won at No. 3.
Wisconsin freshman Osgar O’Hoisin dropped the first set 5-7 but then rolled 6-1 and 6-2 over Tomislav Antoljak at No. 4. Wisconsin sophomore Chema Carranza won 6-3 in the third at No. 5 to tie the match at 3-3 so the team outcome would be decided at No. 6.
Wisconsin junior John Zordani would outlast Nebraska senior Ford Zitsch 7-6(6) in the third to seal the W for the Badgers.
#37 Wisconsin 4, #71 Nebraska 3
Mar. 27, 2016 at Lincoln, NE (Dillon Tennis Center)
“It was a great effort by our guys to stay in the match when we were down early,” said Westerman. “We didn’t start the match well in doubles and several first sets, but that’s also credit to Nebraska, they were ready to go. We showed exceptional toughness to turn the match around and find a way to close out all four wins in three sets.”
“It all came down to Zordani again,” Westerman said. “He trusted his game at the most important moments and played to win at the end. I’m very proud with the overall toughness of the team.” ______________________________________________________________
Ohio State played its first outdoor home match of the year and walloped No. 23 Michigan 4-0. The Buckeyes took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 then took all six first sets in singles.
Mikael Torpegaard rolled over Alex Knight 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 and Martin Joyce put the Buckeyes a point away from clinching with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 6 over Myles Schalet.
Ralf Steinbach got the clincher at No. 4 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Davis Crocker. The other matches were abandoned with Ohio State leading on all three.
“Any time you beat Michigan is a good thing, said Director of Tennis Ty Tucker. “We were outside today which may have been a little bit of an advantage because Michigan is a very good team that has been stuck inside a little more than we have been in the last couple of weeks. It gets a little crazy at the end of March around here. I expect to see them again at the Big Ten Tournament playing well because there is a lot of tennis left to be played. But this was a good win today.
“We got off to a good start at three doubles which was good to see, said Tucker. “Diaz and Di Feo got themselves into a little bit of a pickle at two but they found a way out. That doubles point could have been very close had those guys not been able to fight back. That kept the pressure off court one which was big because Michigan’s No. 1s are very good.
Top-ranked North Carolina played without Brayden Schnur but it still won going away over No. 45 Virginia Tech 5-2.
North Carolina took the doubles point when Robert Kelly and Brett Clark won 6-4 at No .1. It was Clark’s 100th career doubles win after he picked up his 100th singles win earlier in the season.
UNC took five first sets in singles and Robert Kelly, Jack Murray, and Blaine Boyden would win in straights with Murray clinching at No. 4. The remaining matches were played out with Virginia Tech’s Amerigo Contini winning a third set supertiebreak over Brett Clark at No. 2 while Jai Corbett defeated Anu Kodali in straight sets at No. 5. UNC’s Ronnie Schneider also won a third set supertiebreak over Joao Monteiro at No. 1.
Note: Virginia Tech played without its #2 singles player Andreas Bjerrehus.
#1 North Carolina 5, #45 Virginia Tech 2
March 27, 2016 at Chapel Hill, NC (Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)
Doubles competition
1. #3 Robert Kelly/Brett Clark (UNC) def. #7 Andreas Bjerrehus/Joao Monteiro (VT), 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,3,4,5,1,2)
Post-Match Quotes from UNC’s recap “This is obviously a tough match we thought they were under-ranked, said senior Brett Clark, one of the team captains. “We knew we had to be ready. Everyone played well and I think everyone improved from the Clemson match (on Friday). Moving indoors because of the conditions outside, I thought everyone settled in pretty nicely.
“When I was a freshman I saw seniors getting 100 wins and it was just mind-boggling how you could get to that number, said Clark, who knew going into Sunday’s match he was one away from that milestone. “Going into the season that was my goal, to hit both marks. It just means I’ve had great, great partners over the years and a great team to keep pushing me every day and great coaches. I owe it all to them, because they’re the ones that make me better.
“Joao is a great player I think he’s even taken a step up this year so to get a win over him is really good, Schneider said. “The first set was really high-level, and the second set he just played incredible there wasn’t that much I could do. In the third set, I was able to pull it out, fortunately. Overall I was really happy with how our team played. Virginia Tech is really good and that was a big win for Brett and Kelly in the doubles.
Other Sunday scores: #6 UCLA def. #39 Washington 4-0 – UCLA recap #10 Illinois def. #54 Purdue 4-0 – ILL recap #12 Northwestern def. Indiana 4-0 #12 Northwestern def. IUPUI 4-0 – NU recap #15 Cal def. Arizona 4-0 – Cal recap #16 Florida def. #41 Alabama 5-2 – FLA recap #32 Georgia Tech def. #46 Notre Dame 5-2 – GT recap #43 Stanford def. #61 Utah 4-2 – ST recap #48 LSU def. #49 Vanderbilt 5-2 – LSU recap #51 UC Santa Barbara def. #47 Denver 4-3 – UCSB recap #53 Pepperdine def. Florida Atlantic 5-1 #53 Pepperdine def. North Florida 6-1 – Pepperdine recap #56 Iowa def. Minnesota 4-1 – Iowa recap #65 South Carolina def. Tennessee 4-2 – SC recap #66 Georgia State def. #62 Middle Tennessee State 4-1 – GSU recap #74 William & Mary def. #44 Drake 4-2 – W&M recap Duke def. Louisville 5-2 – Duke recap Duke def. NC Central 6-1 San Diego State def. Fresno State 4-3 – SDSU recap
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