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Sunday Recap: Utah Upsets Stanford; Illini Victorious in Ann Arbor; Florida State Wins 4-3 Thrillers; Texas Tech Trips Oklahoma 4-3; Crazy Finish in Tulsa/Temple Match; Liberty’s Eddie Gutierrez Makes SportsCenter Top 10

by | Apr 8, 2019 | Blog | 0 comments

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Utah and No. 12 Stanford had met 37 times headed into Sunday’s men’s match in Salt Lake City and despite some recent close encounters the Utes had only tasted victory once with that coming over 30 years ago. Stanford’s top player Axel Geller did not play, despite suiting up on Thursday against Cal Poly, so the Cardinal had to make some adjustments to both their doubles and singles lineup and Utah rose to the occasion on senior day with its departing trio each playing a role in the 4-2 upset win. 

Utah senior David Micevski and junior Slava Shainyan were the first off the court in doubles with a 6-3 win at No. 1 over Stanford’s usual No 2 team of Jack Barber and William Genesen. Moments later Stanford’s Sameer Kumar, who normally teams with Geller at No. 1, and Sangeet Sridhar won 6-4 at No. 2 doubles to make the match at No. 3 the decider. 

Utah senior Joe Woolley and sophomore Russell Benkaim would win that decider in a tiebreak 7-2 over Alexandre Rotsaert and Timothy Sah with the Stanford pair in their usual spot at No. 3.

In singles each team would take three opening sets with Utah claiming the top three while Stanford took the bottom three. 

Utah senior Dan Little made it 2-0 after rolling in his final match at home with an impressive 6-3, 6-2 win over Rotsaert at No. 1 however Stanford was closing in on wins on the bottom three courts.

Stanford sophomore Timothy Sah put the Cardinal on the board with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 5 and freshman Sangeet Sridhar tied it up with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6. Stanford senior Michael Genender served for the match at No. 4 up 6-2, 5-3 on Russell Benkaim but the Ute sophomore would break back and a few games later would hold on the deciding point (Genender’s only match point) to send it to a tiebreak that he’d ultimately take 7-3. 

David Micevski put the Utes back in front with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 2 over William Genesen and Russell Benkaim would be the hero after he pulled away from Michael Genender in the third set to clinch with a 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 win. The match at No. 3 went unfinished with Utah’s Slava Shainyan holding a pair of break points at 4-4 in the third versus Sameer Kumar (Kumar had led earlier in the set 3-0 and had a break point for 4-0). 

“What an unbelievable way to finish the home season and honor our three seniors,” said head coach Roeland Brateanu. “To come out here and beat sixteen-time national champion Stanford, what a great way to end their careers. We’re looking forward to next week, another battle.”

Utah 4, #12 Stanford 2
April 7, 2019 at Salt Lake City, Utah (George S. Eccles Tennis Center)
Doubles Results
1. Slava Shainyan/David Micevski (UTAH) d. Jack Barber/William Genesen (STAN) 6-3
2. Sameer Kumar/Sangeet Sridhar (STAN) d. Azat Hankuliyev/Dan Little (UTAH) 6-4
3. Russell Benkaim/Joe Woolley (UTAH) d. Alexandre Rotsaert/Timothy Sah (STAN) 7-6 (2)
Singles Results
1. No. 54 Dan Little (UTAH) d. No. 47 Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) 6-3, 6-2
2. David Micevski (UTAH) d. No. 110 William Genesen (STAN) 6-4, 6-2
3. Slava Shainyan (UTAH) vs. No. 78 Sameer Kumar (STAN) 7-5, 4-6, 4-4* (30/40), UNF
4. Russell Benkaim (UTAH) d. Michael Genender (STAN) 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-2
5. Timothy Sah (STAN) d. Mathias Gavelin (UTAH) 6-3, 6-1
6. Sangeet Sridhar (STAN) d. Joe Woolley (UTAH) 6-3, 6-2
Match Notes
Utah 16-8 (2-4 Pac-12)
Stanford 13-5 (2-3 Pac-12); National Ranking #12
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,5,6,2,4)

 

Illinois, ranked No. 15, moved to 7-0 in Big Ten play after going on the road and defeating No. 20 Michigan 4-2. The Illini took the doubles point with 6-3 wins at No. 1 and No. 2 but the Wolverines came back in singles with four opening sets. Michigan’s Patrick Maloney tied it at 1-1 with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 5 but Vuk Budic put Illinois back in front with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6.

Aleks Kovacevic made it 3-1 with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 1 but Michigan closed to within 3-2 with a 7-5, 7-6 win by Myles Schalet at No. 3. 

Illinois freshman Keenan Mayo would get the clinch at No. 4 with a 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 win over Connor Johnston while the match at No. 2 went unfinished with Michigan’s Andrew Fenty leading 2-1 in the third.

The Big Ten regular season championship will most likely be decided next weekend in Champaign with Illinois hosting Penn State and fellow Big Ten unbeaten Ohio State. 

“Marcos (Asse) and I are really proud of the guys,” said head coach Brad Dancer. It was a super tough match for us. We talked about being tough and defining toughness as staying one point at a time. Michigan is really tough, so they jumped on us early in doubles. Our guys were really resilient, and we were able to come back and take that.”

“In singles, we were up and down with neither team establishing momentum,” noted Dancer. “When we did get down in places, Alex (Brown) and Zeke (Clark) battled back and really gave the guys the opportunity to come back in clinching moments.”

#15 Illinois 4, #20 Michigan 2
April 7, 2019 at Ann Arbor, Michigan (Varsity Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. No. 9 Aleks Kovacevic (UI) d. No. 55 Mattias Siimar (UM), 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
2. No. 98 Andrew Fenty (UM) vs. No. 42 Alex Brown (UI), 4-6, 7-6 (6), 2-1, unfinished
3. Myles Schalet (UM) d. Zeke Clark (UI), 7-5, 7-6 (5)
4. Keenan Mayo (UI) d. Connor Johnston (UM), 6-2, 1-6, 7-5
5. Patrick Maloney (UM) d. Noe Khlif (UI), 6-3, 6-2
6. Vuk Budic (UI) d. Gabe Tishman (UM), 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Alex Brown/Aleks Kovacevic (UI) d. Harrison Brown/Mattias Siimar (UM), 6-3
2. Vuk Budic/Gomes (UI) d. Andrew Fenty/Myles Schalet (UM), 6-3
3. Connor Johnston/Gabe Tishman (UM) vs. Keenan Mayo/Noe Khlif (UI), 5-6, unfinished
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,6,1,3,4)
Illinois 13-6; National ranking #15
Michigan 13-6; National ranking #20

 

The Florida State women and men both won 4-3 thrillers on Sunday with each coming down to a third set tiebreak in the deciding match. 

The FSU women went on the road to No. 10 NC State and found themselves down 1-0 after dropping the doubles point but quick straight set wins by Nandini Das and Andrea Garcia at No. 4 and No. 6 put them in front 2-1. 

NC State retook the lead at 3-2 after straight set wins by Anna Rogers and Bianca Moldovan at No. 1 and No. 5 so the match would be decided at No. 2 and No. 3. 

FSU senior Ana Oparenovic tied it up with a 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 win at No. 3 and sophomore Emmanuele Salas clinched at No. 2 with a 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(2) win.

What an impressive turn around by our group. To lose the doubles point and then jump out to take four first sets at the start of singles, said head coach Jennifer Hyde. We often talk about the importance of having a short memory in tennis, and that mentality was very well executed today. That was a tremendous effort to take four singles matches from a top-10 team. Moving forward, that fact gives us so much more confidence in our singles potential.

For Das to come out of gates so fast like she did to put that first point on the board and even things at 1-1 was critical for our momentum, said Hyde. Then just after, Dre followed up with her own big effort and made quick work at court six. Those two were lights out for us today.

We had some chances in the second sets of both Ana and Manus matches to finish the job earlier, but credit to NC State for pushing us to third sets in those spots, said Hyde. In the end, we hung around well and gave ourselves the chances we needed to seal it up down the stretch. We expect to be pushed to our limits in this conference, and Im so pleased with how we responded to that push today.

Not to be clich, but our team demonstrated the complete meaning of perseverance today. That wins big moments, that grows belief, and this team gained so much through their perseverance over the span of this entire weekend. We are improving, we are getting there, and today was another positive step in the direction we want to go. I could not be more proud of this team. They earned every bit of what they got.

Florida State 4, #10 NC State 3
April 7, 2019 at Raleigh, NC 
Singles competition
1. #15 Anna Rogers (ST) def. #32 Carla Touly (FSU) 6-2, 7-5
2. Emmanuele Salas (FSU) def. #75 Alana Smith (ST) 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(2)
3. Ana Oparenovic (FSU) def. #112 Adriana Reami (ST) 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2
4. Nandini Das (FSU) def. Liz Norman (ST) 6-1, 6-1
5. Bianca Moldovan (ST) def. Ariana Rahmanparast (FSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Andrea Garcia (FSU) def. Amanda Rebol (ST) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #9 Anna Rogers/Alana Smith (ST) def. #46 Emmanuele Salas/Ana Oparenovic (FSU) 6-3
2. Carla Touly/Ariana Rahmanparast (FSU) def. Adriana Reami/Claudia Wiktorin (ST) 6-4
3. Liz Norman/Bianca Moldovan (ST) def. Petra Hule/Andrea Garcia (FSU) 6-4
Match Notes:
NC State 20-4 (10-2 ACC); National Ranking #10
Florida State 17-5 (9-3 ACC); National Ranking #13
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (4,6,1,5,3,2)
T-3:44 A-215

 

While the women pulled it out on the road the Florida State men’s team was in a battle at home against Virginia Tech. The Seminoles took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 but the Hokies came back in singles and went in front 3-1 after straight set wins by Henrik Korsgaard, Alex Ribeiro, and Brandon Perez at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5. 

FSU’s Chase Wood started the comeback with a 6-4, 7-6 win at No. 6 and on senior day it was senior Lucas Poullain tying it up with a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 1.

In the match decider at No. 4, it’d be FSU junior Enzo Le Seguillon fighting off a match point in the third set tiebreak to defeat Carlo Donato 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(7).

It was a great win today on Lucass senior day, said head coach Dwayne Hultquist. The doubles point gave us a good start. We were getting beat pretty bad at the beginning of singles, losing five of the first six first sets but we hung in there. We battled back all day long. Down 3-1 and coming back to win the final three matches and down four team match points with Enzo was huge. Enzo came in clutch and he deserves to be the player of the day.

#31 Florida State 4, #43 Virginia Tech 3
April 7, 2019 at Tallahassee, FL
Singles competition
1. #39 Lucas Poullain (FS) def. #66 Jason Kros (VT) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. Henrik Korsgaard (VT) def. Alex Knaff (FS) 7-5, 6-4
3. Alex Ribeiro (VT) def. Juan Martin Jalif (FS) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
4. Enzo Le Seguillon (FS) def. Carlo Donato (VT) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7)
5. Brandon Perez (VT) def. Sebastian Arcila (FS) 6-4, 6-4
6. Chase Wood (FS) def. Evan Fragistas (VT) 6-4, 7-6 (9-7)
Doubles competition
1. Alex Knaff/Sebastian Arcila (FS) def. Henrik Korsgaard/Ryan Kros (VT) 6-1
2. Lucas Poullain/Bryn Nahrung (FS) def. Brandon Perez/Jason Kros (VT) 7-5
3. Chase Wood/Juan Martin Jalif (FS) vs. Freddy Mesmer/Carlo Donato (VT) 5-5, unfinished
Match Notes:
Virginia Tech 15-7, 5-5; National ranking #43
Florida State University 15-8, 5-5; National ranking #31
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,2,3,6,1,4)

 

Texas Tech improved to 14-10 with a close 4-3 win at home over No. 17 Oklahoma. The Red Raiders jumped out to a 2-0 lead after taking the doubles point and getting a straight set win from Franco Ribero at No. 5 but OU answered with a straight set win from Sepncer Papa at No. 1. Texas Tech’s lgiz Valiev made it 3-1 with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win at No. 3 but OU tied it up with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win from Jake Van Emburgh at No. 2 and a 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 win by Max Stewart at No. 6. 

Texas Tech redshirt junior Bjorn Thomson, who missed all of last year with an injury, got a late break and then served it out to clinch with a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over Mason Beiler at No. 4. 

“Every win in the Big 12 is big,” head coach Brett Masi said. “We needed a win, and this is huge for us as we head to senior night on Friday. The guys rallied together after yesterday’s loss and came out and proved it today.”

#23 Texas Tech 4, #17 Oklahoma 3
04/07/2019 at Lubbock, Texas (McLeod Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. #33 Spencer Papa (OU) def. #94 Parker Wynn (TTU) 6-4, 7-6 (9-7)
2. #59 Jake Van Emburgh (OU) def. Tommy Mylnikov (TTU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. Ilgiz Valiev (TTU) def. #57 Ferran Calvo (OU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
4. Bjorn Thomson (TTU) def. Mason Beiler (OU) 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
5. Franco Ribero (TTU) def. Jochen Bertsch (OU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Max Stewart (OU) def. Artem Kapshuk (TTU) 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1
Doubles Competition
1. #4 Bjorn Thomson/Parker Wynn (TTU) def. Alex Bakshi/Spencer Papa (OU) 6-2
2. Jackson Cobb/Tommy Mylnikov (TTU) vs. Jake Van Emburgh/Ferran Calvo (OU) 5-4, unfinished
3. Matheus Leite/Ilgiz Valiev (TTU) def. Jochen Bertsch/Stefano Tsorotiotis (OU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Oklahoma 14-7, 1-2
Texas Tech 14-10, 1-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (5,1,3,2,6,4)
T-3:10

 

The strangest finish of the day took place in Tulsa between No. 47 Tulsa and Temple. The match was tied at 3-3 with the decider at No. 2 between Temple sophomore Mark Wallner and Tulsa freshman Kody Pearson deep in a third set. Pearson, who was serving at 5-5 (30/40), double faulted the break to Wallner and after the double fault he slammed his racquet to the ground. When the racquet hit the ground it shot off to the side and apparently hit a spectator who was sitting courtside. Pearson immediately put his hand up to apologize to the spectator and as he walked back to the bench the chair umpire began talking to the head referee. After a quick discussion the decision was made to default Pearson which gave Temple the 4-3 win. Pearson to his credit walked over to the chair and shook hands. 

I’m guessing this is Temple’s first-ever win over Tulsa though I didn’t see any mention of that fact in their recap. 

Temple 4, #47 Tulsa 3
4/7/2019 at Tulsa, Okla. (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Singles Results
1. #73 Majed Kilani (TLSM) def. A. Caceres Casas (TEM) 7-5, 6-1
2. Mark Wallner (TEM) def. Kody Pearson (TLSM) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-5, default
3. Joshua Goodger (TLSM) def. Paolo Cucalon (TEM) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
4. Uladzimir Dorash (TEM) def. Jarod Hing (TLSM) 6-3, 6-4
5. Stefan Hampe (TLSM) def. Eric Biscoveanu (TEM) 6-3, 6-1
6. Juan Araoz (TEM) def. Boriss Kamdem (TLSM) 6-2, 5-7, 6-0
Doubles results
1. #80 A. Caceres Casas/Mark Wallner (TEM) def. #88 Jarod Hing/Boriss Kamdem (TLSM) 7-6 (7-5)
2. Kody Pearson/Majed Kilani (TLSM) def. Eric Biscoveanu/Juan Araoz (TEM) 6-1
3. Uladzimir Dorash/Paolo Cucalon (TEM) def. Joshua Goodger/Tom Thelwall-Jones (TLSM) 7-5
Match Notes:
Temple 11-6
Tulsa 13-11; National ranking #47
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,3,4,1,6,2)
T-3:30 A-114

 

It’s not often that you see a college tennis highlight on SportsCenter but that’s what you got if you were watching Saturday night. Liberty senior Eddie Gutierrez had his racquet in the right place at the right time to win an amazing point. Not only did he win the point but the senior also won the deciding match on senior day to propel Liberty past North Florida 4-3.

 

Other Notable Men’s Results

  • #1 Ohio State won at #48 Iowa 4-1
  • #2 Florida won at Auburn 6-1
  • #5 Virginia won at #24 Miami FL 4-0
  • #7 Baylor def. #34 Oklahoma State 7-0
  • #11 North Carolina def. #22 Notre Dame 5-0
  • #16 Columbia def. Brown 4-1
  • #19 Georgia def. #44 Arkansas 6-1
  • #26 Alabama def. #18 South Carolina 4-2
  • #29 Arizona def. #42 Oregon 4-1
  • #30 Penn State won at Nebraska 4-3
  • #39 Dartmouth won at #50 Penn 5-2
  • #40 Tulane won at Memphis 4-3 

 

Other Notable Women’s Results

 
  • #1 Georgia won at Missouri 4-0
  • #2 North Carolina def. #22 Wake Forest 7-0
  • #3 South Carolina def. #43 Alabama 4-0
  • #6 Vanderbilt def. #46 Ole Miss 4-3
  • #7 Texas def. #29 Texas Tech 6-1
  • #10 NC State def. Winthrop 4-3
  • #12 Oklahoma State def. #31 Oklahoma 7-0
  • #14 Kansas def. West Virginia 6-1
  • #17 Tennessee won at #40 Arkansas 4-1
  • #21 Ohio State def. Minnesota 5-2
  • #23 Florida def. #49 Auburn 4-2
  • Michigan State won at #25 Northwestern 4-3
  • #27 Miami FL won at #30 Boston College 5-2
  • #34 Georgia Tech won at Clemson 4-3
  • #37 Princeton won at Harvard 4-3
  • Houston def. #47 South Florida 4-2
 
To see other results head to the ITA’s result portal. 
*All quotes are from the respective school’s recaps
 

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