Cox Rally Sparks 5-2 Win Over No. 22 Georgia Tech
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina sophomore Chip Cox turned the tide of the match and helped power No. 69 South Carolina to a 5-2 win over No. 22 Georgia Tech at Bill Moore Tennis Center Saturday afternoon. The Gamecocks (6-0) won the swept the three doubles matches but trailed in the first sets of four singles before Cox pushed back to win his first set, spurring his teammates to victory as well.
“It was a good win today,” South Carolina head coach Josh Goffi said. “To beat the No. 22-ranked team, especially with such a young team, is a big accomplishment for us. I’m especially proud of our freshmen. We had all three come through in our 5-2 victory, so the freshmen are playing well. That’s important to see for the rest of the season.”
South Carolina’s doubles continued their strong play with Ivan Machado and Thiago Pinheiro getting things off to a good start with an 8-4 win in the No. 2 match, topping Kevin King and Vikram Hundal. The Gamecocks’ No. 1 tandem of Nick Jones and Kyle Koch rode their power game to an 8-6 win over Juan Spir and Juan Melian. With the point decided, the No. 3 match went to a tiebreaker, which Cox and Andrew Adams closed out 7-6 (3) over Eduardo Segura and Sebastian Edwards.
Georgia Tech looked to reclaim momentum in singles, jumping out to a quick lead by winning the first sets of four of the six matches on court. South Carolina led only in the No. 3 match, in which Adams was handling Melian 6-2. In the No. 4 match, Cox trailed Hundal 5-1 in the first.
Cox was the first to make his move, winning the next six games to claim the first set 7-5. While the Yellow Jackets had taken a 2-1 lead with wins in the Nos. 1 and 2 matches, the Gamecocks were building on Cox’s rally. The Myrtle Beach, S.C., native closed out his match with a 6-1 second set, finishing his comeback by winning 12 of 13 games to knot the team score at 2-2.
Buoyed by the emotion, Carl Eguez was pushing his way back from a 2-6 first set loss to Edwards, winning the second set 6-1. With his match evened up at a set a piece, the freshman kept his foot on the gas in the third with a perfect 6-0 set to put the Gamecocks up 3-2.
Adams clinched the victory for the Gamecocks with his 6-0 second set victory over Melian, leaving only Koch on court to determine the final score. The freshman dropped his first set 7-5 but won the second by the same score after battling for a late service break. In the super tiebreaker, the big-serving Koch picked up the 10-6 victory.
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Women’s Tennis Falls to Purdue in Weekend Match-Up
Lexington, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s tennis team continued its nine-game home stretch this weekend with a match against No. 48 Purdue. The Wildcats fought hard but ultimately dropped the match, 6-1.
As doubles play began, it was clear that competition would be fierce between the two evenly matched teams. Sophomore Caitlin McGraw paired up with freshman Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff at the No. 1 doubles position to take on Purdue’s Jennifer Rabot and Mara Schmidt. The duos both put on strong performances, but UK ultimately took the victory, 8-5.
After Stephanie Fox and CeCe Witten suffered their first loss at doubles on the season, it was up to junior Jessica Stiles and sophomore Marni Venter to win the doubles point. The two battled against Imogen Golder and Gisella Pere in a close match but could not grab the win, losing 9-7.
The most dominating performance of the day came from sophomore CeCe Witten, who took on Anna Dushkina at the No. 5 singles position. Witten barely faltered throughout the match, easily taking the victory, 6-2, 6-1.
While Kentucky was unable to grab another win in singles play, every match was played close. Freshman Stephanie Fox almost required a third set for her match against Schmidt, where she ultimately lost, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Morin-Kougoucheff also participated in a heated match with a final score, 7-5, 6-4.
"Today we played a very disciplined Purdue team,” said seventh-year head coach, Carlos Drada, “We had some great opportunities. The score does not reflect the competitiveness that we had throughout the match. We're moving in the right direction. Our girls came to compete with great spirit and determination. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."
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No. 4 Georgia Men’s Tennis Handles ETSU, 6-1
ATHENS, Ga. --- The No. 4 Georgia men’s tennis team won its fourth straight match Saturday, downing East Tennessee State by a 6-1 score at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts.
The Bulldogs move to 4-0 on the early season, while dropping the Bucs to 0-4.
“We played a great match today,” said head coach Manuel Diaz. “All three of our doubles teams played great, even with playing some new combinations. Then singles was tremendous. We were challenged, especially at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots. ETSU has some great talent at the top of their lineup. Sadio [Doumbia] and KU [Singh] did a tremendous job, and KU especially in the last two sets. Sadio is playing so well right now. I thought Nathan Pasha did a great job playing as high as No. 4 today, and Hernus Pieters playing at No. 3 was fantastic as well.”
Georgia won the doubles point for the fourth time this season with wins on all three courts. First through was the brand new team of Garrett Brasseaux and KU Singh, who bested Robin Akser and Jeremy Bonnevalle, 8-5, at No. 3. The clinch came at No. 1, where Sadio Doumbia and Hernus Pieters beat Jesus Bandres also by an 8-5 score. Pasha and Ignacio Taboada would complete the sweep with an 8-2 decision over Jorge Varon and Juan Ramirez after going up 7-0 in the match.
It became a 2-0 Georgia lead when Pasha won 6-3, 6-1 over Bonnevalle at No. 4 in a lightning quick match. He was followed by 64th-ranked Pieters at No. 3, who defeated Ramirez by a score of 6-1, 6-4 to make it 3-0.
No. 10 Doumbia then picked up the clincher for UGA with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Sander Gille at No. 1 to make it 4-0.
Singh would make it 5-0 as he followed suit with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 decision over Bandres, rallying from the first-set loss to keep the Bulldogs rolling. 26th-ranked Ignacio Taboada was next, making it 6-0 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Akser. The Bucs then earned their lone point of the day as Varon came back from his first-set deficit to edge Campbell Johnson in three, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (11-9), narrowly capturing the third-set match tiebreaker to round out the day at 6-1.
The Bulldogs are now 23-1 on the season in singles play and 9-1 in doubles.
“I think I played well today – probably the best I’ve played in a dual match,” said Pasha after his quick win at No. 4 – his highest spot in the lineup to date. “It was good for me because I’m really starting to feel confident. The team is playing so well right now, and we’re so improved from the fall. We’re working hard and improving, all of us.”
The Bulldogs are now 7-0 all-time against East Tennessee State, including wins in each of the last five seasons.
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Top-Ranked UF Women’s Tennis Passes Test at No. 5 Baylor
WACO, Texas – The top-ranked University of Florida women’s tennis team passed its first test true test of the season, defeating fifth-ranked Baylor, 5-2, at Hurd Tennis Center Saturday afternoon in Waco, Texas.
The Gators (3-0) won the doubles point for the third time in as many matches this year, before capturing four hard-fought singles matches, with five of the six playing three sets.
Junior Caroline Hitimana continued her strong start to the dual match season, earning a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Megan Horter at the No. 6 position in the only match that didn’t go three sets. The win was Hitimana’s sixth consecutive overall singles victory, as well as her 13th straight in dual match action, and gave Florida a 3-0 lead in the team scoring.
Sophomore Sofie Oyen was the first to finish her singles match, earning a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 win against Ema Burgic on court five. Oyen also tallied her sixth consecutive singles win and helped the Gators take a 2-0 lead.
Baylor, which was off to one of the best starts in program history in winning its first nine dual matches of the season, then got on the board when Sona Novakova knocked off senior Joanna Mather, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 on court three.
Junior All-American and third-ranked Allie Will then clinched the dual match victory when she clocked in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win against 14th-ranked Diana Nakic, as she improved to 7-0 overall this season.
The Bears earned their second point of the dual match when Nina Secerbegovic upset UF’s 25th-ranked Lauren Embree, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, on court two. Embree, who had not lost a game in her two prior singles dual matches this year, lost for just the fourth time in her dual match career and had her 43-match singles win streak snapped in team competition, as her career dual match record now stands at 46-4.
Sophomore Alexandra Cercone provided the final team point, as she defeated Jordaan Sanford, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5, on court four and posted her 16th straight dual match singles win.
“It was really tough, five three setters,” UF coach Roland Thornqvist said. “They had a great crowd and I thought our players handled it well. It came down to a few games here and there. Perhaps it wasn’t the greatest of tennis but we showed a lot of heart because this Baylor team is really good. It was a great match for us. It certainly give us some data of things we need to work on. We showed a lot of class to be able to come in here and beat a really, really good Baylor team. This is a final four-caliber team we played team. I was very encouraged by the way we were able to compete at the end.”
On the doubles court, UF’s teams of Lauren Embree and Joanna Mather, and Sofie Oyen Allie Will earned victories on courts two and one, respectively and gave the Gators the early 1-0 team lead.
Florida returns to action on Tuesday, when the Gators put their 24-match winning streak on the line when they play host to South Florida beginning at 4 p.m. Admission to all regular-season home matches is free.
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No. 5 Gator Men Fall at No. 2 Virgina, 6-1
Charlottesville, Va.--The fifth-ranked Florida men’s tennis team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday afternoon at No. 2 Virginia, 6-1, in Charlottesville. The Gators are now 3-1 on the season, while the Cavaliers remain unbeaten at 3-0.
“Virginia had a good match today and outplayed us,” said head coach Andy Jackson. “We fought hard in singles but couldn't get into the match early enough at some spots to give ourselves a chance. All the credit goes to them. They have a very experienced and talented team.”
Florida got off to a slow start by dropping the doubles point for the first time in dual-match play, losing at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. The duo of Frank Carleton (Naples, Fla.) and Spencer Newman (Miami, Fla.) remain unbeaten in dual play after beating the 13th-ranked pair of Justin Shane and Philippe Oudshoorn, 8-6.
Singles didn’t start much better on Saturday, with the Gators dropping the first set on five of six courts. The Cavaliers earned straight-set wins on courts three and four, and Jarmere Jenkins, ranked No. 11 in the country, clinched the win at No. 1 singles with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Nassim Slilam. It was Slilam’s first-ever dual-match playing in the top position.
The final three matches were all decided in three sets. After dropping the first set 4-6, Carleton came back to win the final two sets against Alex Domijan, 6-3, 6-4, to claim a win at No. 2 singles. Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, Fla.) took the first set at No. 6 singles, but fell to Oudshoorn, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Newman lost the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (2), but stormed back to win the second set 6-3. He couldn’t hang on in the final set, losing to Julen Uriguen, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-5.
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#14 State Tennis Downs #46 TCU 4-1 Through Rain-Plagued Weekend
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After two long days of rain delay, Mississippi State’s 14th-ranked men’s tennis team (5-2) posted a 4-1 decision over the No. 46 Horned Frogs of TCU (1-3) on Saturday, starting the match in Starkville and completing it indoors in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The match, originally scheduled for Friday, was postponed to Saturday morning at 10 a.m. due to rain. The match got started on time Saturday and, in an impressive showing during doubles play, the 12th-ranked MSU tandem of Louis Cant and Malte Stropp breezed through their TCU foe in Nick Chappell and J.T. Sundling 8-1 to take the early match in the top spot.
However, the doubles point would not end quickly as the Horned Frogs were battling in the No. 2 and 3 positions. The TCU duo of Paul Chappell and Will Stein battled James Chaudry and Ethan Wilkinson on court 3. With the match in a tight dual at 6-6 and TCU holding serve, the Bulldogs could not break back as Chappell and Stein took the match 8-6 allowing the doubles decision to be made on court 2.
With the match also tight in the two spot, the Bulldog tandem of George Coupland and Artem Ilyushin took an early 3-1 lead over TCU’s Daniel Sanchez and Blake Wiggins. However, the Horned Frogs battled back to take the 4-3 lead and hold serve to 6-6 until the Bulldogs broke back 7-6. With Coupland serving for the match and the doubles point, the Dogs took the 8-6 victory on court 2 and the doubles point putting MSU up 1-0 headed into singles action.
As most singles play progressed into late in the first set midday Saturday, rain began pouring on the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre with only one first set decided. With the inclement weather persisting, the match was moved to the University of Alabama’s Indoor Tennis Complex in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The teams resumed play at 3:15 Saturday afternoon, and the first to finish play in singles was the 90th-ranked Stropp of MSU. On court 3, he took an easy decision from TCU’s Max Stevens 6-0, 6-3 extending the Bulldogs’ lead to 2-0.
Also taking an easy two-setter for the Bulldogs was No. 32 Coupland in the fifth spot. Ousting P. Chappell of TCU, Coupland earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.
However, the Horned Frogs answered on court 6 where Facundo Lugones squared off with MSU’s Zach White. Being down 5-3 in the first, White fought his way to a 6-6 tiebreaker where his efforts fell short as he dropped in the first 7-6(4). Lugones took a 6-4 decision in the second to give TCU their only point of the day with the match at 3-1.
Clinching the match for the Bulldogs was the 79th-ranked Chaudry on No. 2. Taking the easy first set 6-3 from Sundling, the second would prove to be a battle. Dualing back-and-forth to a 5-5 score, Chaudry earned a break for a 6-5 advantage to serve for the match. However, Sundling would break back and send the second set to a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker would be decided in the same fashion as neither player would not in. However, with the match at 7-7, Chaudry would take the last two points to decide the match 6-3, 7-6(7) and clinch the match for the Bulldogs 4-1.
With matches still out on courts 1 and 3, all play was suspended at that point. In the top spot for the Bulldogs was Ilyushin where he faced TCU’s N. Chappell. Chappel led 4-1 in the third set. On court 3 for the Dogs was the 45th-ranked Cant where he had battled back over his Horned Frog foe, Sanchez. Cant led 5-1 in the third set when play was suspended.
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Newcomers Shine For MSU In 2012 Spring Opener
Starkville, Miss. - Mississippi State’s Lady Bulldog tennis squad posted a 4-0 victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette in their 2012 opening match.
Although weather conditions were not working to the advantage of Mississippi State, moving the matches indoors to McCarthy Gymnasium did not seem to hinder Lady Bulldog play in any way.
The day’s competition began with doubles matches. For Naomi Tran, Ekaterina Iakovleva, and Khrystyna Pavlyuk, these matches marked their debut into dual play with the Lady Bulldogs.
Pavlyuk and Perper quickly and efficiently took down the ULL pair of Aarsen and Wilbert 8-2. Iakovleva and Tran followed shortly afterwards with an 8-2 victory over Milou Isreal and Briggit Marcovich.
Iakovleva, who Coach Daryl Greenan described as “deadly” in singles play, smoothly swept her opponent 6-0, 6-0. However, the remaining singles matches would present several grueling games before the Lady Bulldogs could claim the overall victory.
Both Alexandra Perper and Khrystyna Pavlyuk battled back and forth with their respective opponents before winning their first sets in 7-6(6) tiebreakers.
Pavlyuk was able to seal the deal in the second set, winning 6-1. Perper, however, fell 1-6 in the second set, but was able to summon the strength to fight back in the third to put the nail in the coffin with a 6-4 win over Aarssen.
Greenan was very pleased with the effort shown by Pavlyuk and Perper, as well as with the promising performance shown by the rest of the team.
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Men get huge 5-2 win over No. 73 DePaul
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Arkansas men’s tennis team scored a big 5-2 win over 73rd-ranked DePaul Saturday afternoon in Iowa City, Iowa. The win keeps Arkansas undefeated on the season at 5-0 and is also the Hogs first win over a ranked opponent this year. The team kept up its doubles dominance that it has shown throughout the year, scratching across the first point of the match and then followed it up with a stellar performance in singles, winning at courts three through six.
“This was a good win for us,” head coach Robert Cox said. “This team is very close both on and off the court and it showed today. Matt Walters has been stepping it up every day and what can you say about him and Hall Fess in doubles. They will get their wins as a team as they are solid. We are a blue collar team that competes well. DePaul is a very well-coached team, but I was impressed with how our team came out today and played extremely well.”
Referring to the Razorbacks’ top doubles team in senior Matt Walters and junior Hall Fess, the duo defeated a tough DePaul team consisting of George Chanturia and Filip Dzanko, 8-6, leaving Arkansas one doubles win away from the opening point. The win for Walters and Fess was their 11th of the young season and keeps them well at the top of the team standings in the win column. The victory was also their sixth straight dating back to the fall season.
It didn’t take long for the Hogs to secure the first team point as sophomores Mike Nott and Manfred Jeske got the 8-5 win over Matija Palinic and Aaron Chaffee at court three. It was the fourth time in four opportunities that Arkansas was the doubles point winners and the win for Nott and Jeske kept them undefeated as a team as they are now 5-0 this year.
The Razorbacks opened singles play with two very quick match wins at courts three and six. Freshman Jovan Parlic, in his fourth dual appearance this season, locked down a straight set win over Chaffee, 6-1, 6-2, to push Arkansas’ lead to 2-0. That win was followed by the senior captain in Walters, who defeated Sven Kasper, also in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. The victory by Walters now puts him in a three-way tie for the team lead in wins with Jeske and senior Nikolas Zogaj, who now have 10.
DePaul did get one singles win at the number two spot, but the team match was soon clinched by Jeske at court four and it secured Arkansas’ fifth win of the year. Jeske defeated Mathias Hambach in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5 to move to 10-5 this year and remained undefeated in dual play.
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LSU MEN’S TENNIS FALLS SHORT AGAINST MICHIGAN, 5-2
ANN ARBOR, Mich. --- The 28th-ranked LSU men’s tennis team could not hold on, falling to No. 31 Michigan at the Varsity Tennis Courts in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday.
LSU (3-2) looked to be in charge early, earning the doubles point with victories by both Roger Anderson and Stefan Szacinski, and Neal Skupski and James Turbervill.
In doubles, on court one, No. 28 Olivier Borsos and Chris Simpson got tripped up early by the 22nd-ranked Michigan duo of Evan King and Shaun Bernstein.
Meanwhile, Anderson and Szacinski kept it close, edging by Michigan’s Barrett Franks and Alex Buzzi 8-6.
Skupski and Turbervill had no trouble keeping their win streak going, beating Alex Petrone and Michael Zhu 8-3, giving LSU the doubles point and the advantage, 1-0.
In singles play, the Tigers had a hard time adjusting to the indoor style of play, giving up three-straight before Turbervill took down Eli Brown in straight sets on court six.
Down 3-2, Szacinski battled hard, but could not hold, meeting defeat at the hands of Michigan’s Franks, 6-4, 7-5.
With the match already decided, Skupski continued to battle against Bernstein, sending his match into a 6-6 tiebreaker. Skupski fought hard, but eventually fell 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (10), giving Michigan a 5-2 victory over the Tigers.
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Rebels Fall At Texas Tech 4-3
LUBBOCK, Texas – Playing its first indoor match of the season, the No. 18 nationally ranked Ole Miss women’s tennis team suffered its first loss of the season, dropping a tough 4-3 decision to No. 42 Texas Tech here Saturday night at the Lubbock Country Club.
The Rebels led 3-1 in the match, but Texas Tech would win the final three points at four, five and six singles to secure the upset. The match came down to No. 6 singles, where Lady Raider Nikki Sanders defeated Rebel freshman Julia Jones 6-1, 6-1.
“It was a very disappointing performance by us in the middle and bottom of the lineup,” head coach Mark Beyers said. “Texas Tech deserved to win at those positions; they played better than we did. It shows again how much parity there is in college tennis.”
Ole Miss built the lead first by taking the doubles point with a pair of 8-6 wins at the top two spots. The No. 4 ranked senior duo of Kristi Boxx and Abby Guthrie improved to 5-0 at No. 1 with their win over Texas Tech’s Samantha Adams and Kenna Kilgo. Senior Gabby Rangel and freshman Erin Stephens moved to 4-1 at No. 2 with their win over the Lady Raider duo of Sanders and Caroline Starck.
Boxx, ranked No. 12 in the nation, wasted little time putting the Rebels up 2-0 as she downed Adams 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 singles to improve to 14-4 overall and 4-1 at the top spot.
The Lady Raiders got their first point when Starck defeated Stephens 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3 singles. Ole Miss’ Caroline Rohde-Moe increased the lead to 3-1 holding off TT’s Elizabeth Ullathorne 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 at No. 2 singles. Rohde-Moe remains undefeated at No. 2 with a 5-0 record.