Friday Recap: Oklahoma Holds Off TCU, Virginia Too Good For UNC, UGA Over Vandy, Ohio State Too Much for NW

Oklahoma got pushed by TCU in singles but ultimately the Sooners had too much depth and outlasted TCU 4-1.  After OU took the doubles point they picked up 4 1st sets and ended up getting wins from Andrew Harris, Alex Ghilea, and Spencer Papa at 1, 4, and 5.  TCU's lone point came from freshman Guillermo Nunez as he hammered Dane Webb 6-3, 6-2 at #3.  The 2 remaining matches were abandoned with each early in the 3rd set.  

Oklahoma recap

“It was a good match,” head coach John Roddick said. “TCU played very well and they played hard.  We got a pretty good lead on them and they forced us into third sets. Our guys competed well. Doubles was a lot better. We are really coming around there. All in all it’s a good day.”

Head Coach John Roddick

“Spencer did a great job getting off the court in straight sets like that,” Roddick said. “I won’t say that it was easy but he did a great job of taking care of business and getting us a 2-1 lead. That really put us in a good spot because we had other first sets. That gives them very little wiggle room and that was probably the biggest key to winning today.”

“I think we were in good position on two courts and I’ll never doubt Axel until he loses the last point,” Roddick said. “We have been good at putting teams in position where they have very little margin for error. When you do that you will come out on top more often than not. We don’t have a clock so you have to close them out and our guys did that.”

TCU recap

"That was a good college match," head coach David Roditi said. "We played well in all our matches. When we play the No. 1 team on the road, we must capitalize on our opportunities. We lost eight games at deuce at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles and we will learn from that and it will make us a better team next time out. Maybe it's the fact Oklahoma has forgotten how to lose that helped them in those situations, so they deserve credit for that.

"I thought Guillermo and Nick (Chappell) were competing exceptionally well. We have never beaten Dane Webb in a dual match and Guillermo was able to give us that point to even the match at 1-1. Now we must prepare for a tough Oklahoma State on Sunday."

FYI, the number beside the player's school is the player's Universal Tennis Rating as of March 26th.  For more details about UTR check out their website. 

#1 Oklahoma 4, #10 TCU 1

March 27, 2015 at Norman, OK

Singles competition

1. #19 Andrew Harris (OU 14.74) def. #37 Cameron Norrie (TCU 14.30) 7-6(5), 6-4

2. #7 Axel Alvarez (OU 14.59) vs. #36 Nick Chappell (TCU 13.82)  5-7, 6-4, 2-3 DNF

3. #76 Guillermo Nunez (TCU 13.72) def. #26 Dane Webb (OU 14.32) 6-3, 6-2

4. #65 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.15) def. Arnau Dachs (TCU 13.91) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

5. Spencer Papa (OU 13.81) def. Will Stein (TCU 13.30)  6-4, 6-3

6. Florin Bragusi (OU 13.51) vs. Facundo Lugones (TCU 13.64) 6-3, 6-7(5), 3-2 DNF

Order of finish: 3, 5, 1, 4

Doubles competition

1. #6 Webb/Alvarez (OU) def. #19 Chappell/Stein (TCU)  6-1

2. Harris/Ghilea (OU) def. Norrie/Johnson (TCU)  6-3

3. Papa/Bragusi (OU) vs. Blake/Lugones (TCU) 3-4 DNF

Order of finish: 1, 2

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Athens, GA:  Georgia stayed unbeaten in SEC play with a 4-1 win over Vanderbilt. Georgia took the doubles point when its #2 team of Eric Diaz and Nathan Pasha snapped a 5-match losing streak with a 6-3 win and then the Bulldogs picked up singles from Austin Smith, Paul Oosterbaan, and Nick Wood with Wood providing the clincher.  Vanderbilt's Daniel Valent picked up his first career win over a top 20 opponent when he rallied from a set down to win 12 of the final 13 games to knock off #18 Nathan Pasha 4-6, 6-0, 6-1.  Valent got off the court just moments before the Wood clinch.  All other matches were abandoned with #1 singles on serve in the 3rd and #4 just splitting sets.  

The big doubles match at #1 also went unfinished.  

Georgia recap

"We faced windy conditions today, but I told the guys coming in that it was an equalizer and we needed to be tough," said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz. "I thought we did a super job out there. We played great doubles, especially at No. 3, and it was wonderful to see our No. 2 team clinch for us. The singles matches were all competitive, and I'm proud of the effort everywhere."

Said Diaz: "Austin gave us a quick point, and Paul gave us the third point to set up Nick, who lost the first set and turned that around in such a quick manner. He won the second set and got ahead 3-0 in no time, and that was tremendous and showed a lot of composure, tenacity and maturity on his part. He went on to clinch and now we'll have a day or two off before we get ready for a big road trip next week."

Vanderbilt recap

#5 Georgia 4, #17 Vanderbilt 1

March 27, 2015 at Athens, Ga. (Dan Magill Tennis Complex)

Singles competition

1. #28 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 14.59) vs. #7 Gonzales Austin (VAN 14.47) 4-6, 7-5, 0-1, unf

2. #31 Austin Smith (UGA 14.17) def. Rhys Johnson (VAN 13.51) 6-4, 6-3

3. Daniel Valent (VAN 13.88) def. #18 Nathan Pasha (UGA 14.36) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1

4. Ben Wagland (UGA 13.25) vs. Kris Yee (VAN 13.59) 3-6, 6-3, unf

5. Nick Wood (UGA 13.83) def. Suresh Eswaran (VAN 12.86) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1

6. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA 13.63) def. Baker Newman (VAN 12.90) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles competition

1. #1 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA) vs. #4 Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (VAN) 3-4, unf

2. Eric Diaz/Nathan Pasha (UGA) def. #71 Pen Binet/Baker Newman (VAN) 6-3

3. Wayne Montgomery/Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Suresh Eswaran/Daniel Valent (VAN) 6-1

Match Notes:

Vanderbilt 15-6 (5-4); National ranking #17

Georgia 16-2 (8-0); National ranking #5

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,6,3,5)

Official: Clark Weaver T-2:08 A-587

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Virginia extended its ACC record winning streak to 130 with a 6-1 win over #14 North Carolina in a match that was played indoors with just 3 courts available due to a women's match being played at the same time.  Virginia took the doubles point and picked up singles wins from Ryan Shane and Mitchell Frank to lead 3-0 before North Carolina made a small push.  UNC's Jack Murray was up 2-1 in the 3rd on 3, Robert Kelly was serving for the first set on 4, and Oystein Steiro was a break up early on 5. Unfortunately for North Carolina, Virginia would respond with Collin Altamirano taking the final 5 games at #3 and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski taking 10 of the final 12 games to win on 4. UNC's lone point would come from Steiro at 5.  

Virginia recap

"In a difficult situation, playing on only three courts, the guys handled it well," said head coach Brian Boland. "I was really impressed with North Carolina. They played some great doubles. Luca Corinteli carried the day for us in the doubles and that was a big point at the start of the match. We played well from top to bottom of the lineup and we continue to improve with each match. We look forward to the next challenge, which is Sunday against a great Duke team."

North Carolina recap

#8 Virginia 6, #14 North Carolina 1                    

Doubles Competition

1. #8 Shane/Corinteli (UVA) def. #27 Steiro/Hess-Olesen (UNC) 8-6                     

2. #54 Styslinger/Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Murray/Schneider (UNC) 8-2               

3. Frank/Altamirano (UVa) vs. Clark/Kelly (UNC) 6-7 DNF

Singles Competition

1. #6 Ryan Shane (UVA 14.54) def. #24 Ronnie Schneider (UNC 14.20) 7-5, 6-3 
2. #29 Mitchell Frank (UVa 14.89) def. #69 Brett Clark (UNC 13.74) 6-0, 6-1               

3. #55 Collin Altamirano (UVa 14.80) def. Jack Murray (UNC 13.95) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2      
4. #10 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVa 14.76) def. #99 Robert Kelly (UNC 13.59) 7-5, 6-2   
5. Oystein Steiro (UNC 13.43) def. Henrik Wiersholm (UVa 13.55) 6-3, 6-4                 

6. J.C. Aragone (UVa 13.94) def. Stuart DePaolo (UNC 12.49) 7-5, 6-1  

Match Notes:

North Carolina 14-7, 3-2; National ranking #14

Virginia 13-3, 6-0; National ranking #8

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,1,3,4,5,6)

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Ohio State ran its Big 10 regular season winning streak to 97 with a hard fought 5-2 win over Northwestern.  4 of 6 singles courts had at least 1 set go to a tiebreak and while Northwestern won at 1 and 3 singles, Ohio State took the other 4 courts.  Hunter Callahan provided the clincher at #4 singles with a 6-3, 7-6 win over freshman Logan Staggs.  Callahan's clinch came at a good time for Ohio State because Northwestern had some momentum with Fedor Baev splitting sets on 5 and Konrad Zieba opening up a 4-1 lead at #3.  

Ohio State recap

Northwestern recap

#11 Ohio State 5, #19 Northwestern 2

Mar 27, 2015 at Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. #92 Sam Shropshire (NU 13.85) def. #32 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU 14.03) 6-3, 7-6(3)

2. #44 Chris Diaz (OSU 14.01) def. #124 Strong Kirchheimer (NU 13.75) 6-0, 6-1

3. Konrad Zieba (NU 13.70) def. #116 Herkko Pollanen (OSU 13.49) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(5)

4. Hunter Callahan (OSU 13.88) def. Logan Staggs (NU 13.26) 6-3, 7-6(5)

5. Kevin Metka (OSU 13.79) def. Fedor Baev (NU 12.97) 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 1-0 (10-7)

6. #83 Ralf Steinbach (OSU 13.84) def. Alp Horoz (NU 12.87) 6-0, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. #69 Sam Shropshire/Alex Pasareanu (NU) vs. #5 Kevin Metka/Ralf Steinbach (OSU) 5-7, unf

2. #55 Hunter Callahan/Chris Diaz (OSU) def. Fedor Baev/Strong Kirchheimer (NU) 8-4

3. #74 Herkko Pollanen/Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. Alp Horoz/Mihir Kumar (NU) 8-7 (7-5)

Match Notes:

Ohio State 16-6, 4-0 B1G; National ranking #11

Northwestern 12-7, 2-2 B1G; National ranking #19

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,6,1,4,5,3)

Official: Jon Coleman T-3:46 A-168

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LSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead and its #1 Jordan Daigle would have 6 match points to clinch the win but Ole Miss wouldn't got away.  The Ole Miss recap below has all the details:

Ole Miss recap

LSU led 3-0 after taking the doubles point and straight set wins on courts four and five, but the Rebels won four first sets and were able to close out straight set wins at six, three and two in that order to set up Scholtz. 

With the match squared at 3-3, all eyes turned to court one where Scholtz was serving 3-5 in the third set.  He faced three match points at 15-40, but staved off every one of them, setting up Daigle to serve it out.  Daigle jumped out to a 40-15 lead, but Scholtz battled back to a deciding point. After a long exchange of shots, Scholtz forced Daigle to miss a forehand, evening up the frame 5-5.  Both players held serve to take the match to a tiebreaker for the team win.  Daigle led the breaker 2-1 early, but Scholtz won six straight points to take it 7-2 and clinch the victory.  Scholtz won the first set 6-3, but Daigle stormed back to take the second 6-1.

"We couldn't be prouder of the team for hanging in there and fighting until the last point," head coach Toby Hansson said. "It was a big time performance from the entire team and especially Nik. He stepped up and delivered probably the biggest win in his career here.  He showed unbelievable poise to battle back from down a break and save that many match points. This is an amazing win for us. It was an unbelievable atmosphere and a huge crowd."

"I was trying to control what I could control and win my service game and make him have to serve it out," Scholtz said. "He was up 40-15; I just went for it and I am glad I was able to get it. I always tell myself to keep fighting and I did that. I played a solid tiebreak. Both points he won he had to work for it. It was a great match. The crowd was into it and they were on me pretty much the entire time. I was glad to be able to come through."

"They took it to us in doubles, but we've done it before," Hansson said. "We always believe we are never out of a match.  Vinod, Gustav and Stefan played extremely well. We just keep hanging around and when you do that, good things will happen. It's nice to get rewarded after being on the other side of this type of match in Starkville."

"The courts had a strange feel to them and it took some getting used to," Scholtz said. "It was also extremely windy, so that made it tough for us in the beginning. We had to adapt to the conditions, but we showed major grit and determination and just fought until the end. I am very proud of this team."

LSU recap

"We thought we could have something special tonight but ultimately it did not happen," said head coach Jeff Brown. "It was not [Daigle's] match that was the differenhce. We did not play well in other spots which forced a tough situation."

"We have had several of these go our way this season," Brown said. "In a season like this with so many quality teams you are going to win some of these and the opponent will get some. They came up with some great shots under pressure."

"We were in position to win against a good team today and the energy of the crowd had a lot to do with that," Brown said. "We are going to carry that with us to the new stadium. It is always special to play in front of the crowd with all the energy."

"If [Ole Miss] is the thirteenth best team, then we are one point away from being 13," Brown said of the team's confidence. "We have a lot of good wins and this Arkansas match is a huge match. We need to be locked in on every court."

#13 Ole Miss 4, #24 LSU 3

Mar 27, 2015 at Baton Rouge, La. (W.T. "Dub" Robinson Stadium) 

Singles competition

1. #15 Nik Scholtz (OM 14.18) def. #75 Jordan Daigle (LSU 13.32) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6

2. #84 Stefan Lindmark (OM 14.19) def. Chris Simpson (LSU 13.62) 7-6, 7-5

3. Gustav Hansson (OM 13.76) def. Tam Trinh (LSU 12.97) 6-2, 6-4

4. Boris Arias (LSU 13.38) def. William Kallberg (OM 13.35) 6-2, 6-3

5. Justin Butsch (LSU 13.56) def. Ricardo Jorge (OM 13.12) 6-3, 6-3

6. Vinod Gowda (OM 12.86) def. Andrew Korinek (LSU 13.36) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. #20 Jordan Daigle/Boris Arias (LSU) def. Zvonimir Babic/Nik Scholtz (OM) 6-4

2. Tam Trinh/Eric Perez (LSU) vs. Gustav Hansson/Stefan Lindmark (OM) 4-4, unf

3. Chris Simpson/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. William Kallberg/Grey Hamilton (OM) 6-3

Match Notes:

Ole Miss 12-5 (4-2 SEC); National ranking #13

LSU 14-3 (4-2 SEC); National ranking #24

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (4,5,6,3,2,1)

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#7 Texas got all it wanted and more in Stillwater but thanks to Clement Homs they'll leave with their horns held high.  Texas jumped out a 3-0 lead but Oklahoma State kept chipping away at the lead and ended up tying it at 3-3 after Lucas Gerch won a 3rd set tiebreak at #2 singles.  It all came down to #6 singles with Texas senior Clement Homs playing in just his 4th dual match of the year after coming back from a major knee injury.  Homs went up an early break in the 3rd but OK State's Nicolai Ferrigno would get it back on serve at 2-2.  It stayed on serve until Homs got the late break to seal the win 6-4 in the 3rd.

Texas senior Soren Hess-Olsen suffered his 1st dual match loss of the year with Jakob Sude taking him out 6-4, 6-2.  The Texas recap said he had been under the weather this past week.

Texas recap
Oklahoma State recap

"I'm obviously very excited about my win in singles," Sude said. "He's really good. I lost to him last year so it's nice to get that win back. On the other hand, it stings that we didn't get the team win, but the singles was a good win for me. I think I served really well and I have been recently so that's helped a lot."

#7 Texas 4, #22 Oklahoma State 3

March 27, 2015 :: Stillwater, Okla. (Greenwood Tennis Center)

Doubles | Order of finish: 3,1

1. #41 Hess-Olesen/Glasspool (UT) def. #24 Sude/Kadhe (OKST) 7-6(2)

2. Gerch/Ferrigno (OKST) vs. Berkowicz/Goldhoff (UT) 6-5, unf

3. Naumann/Riechmann (UT) def. Finzelberg/Mendoza (OKST) 6-4

Singles | Order of finish: 4,3,1,5,2,6*

1. #87 Jakob Sude (OKST 13.58) def. #1 Soren Hess-Olesen (UT 15.14) 6-4, 6-2

2. Lucas Gerch (OKST 13.68) def. #37 Lloyd Glasspool (UT 13.94) 6-0, 2-6, 7-6(4)

3. #72 Adrien Berkowicz (UT 13.81) def. Arjun Kadhe (OKST 13.47) 6-4, 6-2

4. George Goldhoff (UT 13.65) def. Tristan Meraut (OKST 13.38), by default

5. Lukas Finzelberg (OKST 13.76) def. Nick Naumann (UT 13.79) 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
6. Clement Homs (UT 13.50) def. Nicolai Ferrigno (OKST 13.47) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
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This was another classic 4-3 match with Louisville coming from behind to take the doubles point then getting a come from behind win by Luis Elizondo at #6 singles to take the match.  Georgia Tech's #1 doubles team led 5-2 but Louisville's Jeff Brown and Alex Gornet took 6 straight games to take the court and shortly thereafter Louisville took the doubles point when they won #2 doubles in a tiebreak.

Georgia Tech freshman Chris Eubanks continue to impress as he picked up his 3rd big win over a ranked opponent (UGA's Pasha & Smith) with a 6-1, 6-4 win over ITA #5 Seb Stiefelmeyer.

Louisville recap

"I told the players a special season has different heroes," said head coach Rex Ecarma. "Today's hero was Luis Elizondo. Down 2-6 4-5, he gutted out a 2-6 7-5 6-4 win. I am proud of him as he bounced back from a tough weekend in North Carolina. We beat a talented, well-coached team on the road in the ACC. We are happy."

Georgia Tech recap

"That was disappointing losing the doubles point," said Thorne. "We got soft early in the No. 2 match. We played strong at 1 and 3 in the beginning. We finished strong at 3 and went soft at 1. We had match point at No. 2, played it correctly, but they came up with the winner. Credit to them for winning that, but we could have been more consistent throughout that match and at No. 1."

"We came out and competed very hard in singles," said Thorne. "Chris deserves a lot of credit; he won the biggest match of his young career and did it in solid fashion. But we need to finish off matches when we have the chance. It's not okay to lose 4-3."

#23 Louisville 4, #73 Georgia Tech 3

Mar 27, 2015 at Atlanta, Ga. (Ken Byers Tennis Complex)

Singles competition

1. #73 Christopher Eubanks (GT 13.45) def. #5 Seb Stiefelmeyer (LOU 14.76) 6-1, 6-4

2. #94 Albert Wagner (LOU 13.59) def. #107 Nathan Rakitt (GT 13.12) 6-2, 6-0

3. Carlos Benito (GT 13.42) def. #123 Alex Gornet (LOU 13.61) 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1

4. Chris Simich (LOU 13.38) def. Cole Fiegel (GT 13.14) 7-5, 6-3

5. Michael Kay (GT 13.25) def. Jeffrey Brown (LOU 12.76) 6-1, 6-2

6. Luis Elizondo (LOU 12.12) def. Eduardo Segura (GT 13.47) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4

Doubles competition

1. #68 Jeffrey Brown/Alex Gornet (LOU) def. #58 Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (GT) 8-5

2. Seb Stiefelmeyer/Albert Wagner (LOU) def. Christopher Eubanks/Michael Kay (GT) 8-7 (8-6)

3. Cole Fiegel/Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Van Damrongsri/Chris Simich (LOU) 8-2

Match Notes

Louisville 18-4, 4-2 ACC; National ranking #23

Georgia Tech 10-6, 3-3 ACC; National ranking #73

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,1,2,4,3,6)

Temperature 55 degrees, winds gusting to 25 mph

T-3:34 A-110