Thursday Recap: TCU Clips Texas Tech, Ole Miss Blanks Tennessee, Kentucky Upends Arkansas

The match of the day took place in Fort Worth as #10 TCU held on to beat #21 Texas Tech 4-2. TCU had a dominant performance in doubles and then picked up a couple of quick wins from Facundo Lugones and Will Stein at 5 and 6 before having to withstand a Red Raider rally on the other 4 courts. Texas Tech pulled to within 3-2 after Jolan Cailleau and Felipe Soares won in straight sets at 4 and 1 and Alex Sendegeya was a game away from a win at 5 leading 5-3 in the 3rd.  However TCU's Cameron Norrie would fight off a set point in the 2nd set tiebreaker and close out his match in straight sets to clinch the TCU win.

TCU recap with comments and video clip from David Roditi (courtesy of TCU)

"That was a great college battle," head coach David Roditi said. "Our boys had to dig in deep. We had many opportunities to finish the match earlier and I'm proud of our guys for continuing to dig and fight for every point.

"There was a great doubles performance at No. 2 and a great clinch for our No. 1 doubles team. When we win the doubles point and then get quick wins on courts five and six, it puts us in a very good position and puts a lot of pressure on our opponents. Now we take care of our bodies and be ready for another top-25 battle on Saturday."

Hear @RoditiTCUTennis's thoughts following the 4-2 #TCUTennis victory over Texas Tech! #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/twAuScsjGX
— TCU Men's Tennis (@TCUMensTennis) April 3, 2015

Texas Tech recap

"I am so proud of this team," said Texas Tech head coach Tim Siegel. "We had incredible fight to battle back from a 3-0 deficit."

"We were down, 3-2, and Hugo (Dojas) had set point in the second set tiebreaker, while Alex (Sendegeya) was up 5-3 in the third," added Siegel. "We were basically one point away from being tied 3-3 with the deciding match going to the third. "I am proud of our team. It was a great college tennis match."

FYI, the number beside the player's school is the player's Universal Tennis Rating as of April 2nd.  For more details about UTR check out their website. 

#10 TCU 4, #21 Texas Tech 2

Apr 02, 2015 at Fort Worth, Texas (Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. #40 Felipe Soares (TT 13.65) def. #36 Nick Chappell (TCU 13.86) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4)

2. #37 Cameron Norrie (TCU 14.29) def. Hugo Dojas (TT 13.45) 6-4, 7-6 (6)

3. Alex Sendegeya (TT 13.58) vs. #76 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU 13.78) 6-3, 4-6, 5-3, unf

4. #113 Jolan Cailleau (TT 13.37) def. Arnau Dachs (TCU 13.89) 6-4, 6-4

5. Facundo Lugones (TCU 13.58) def. Francisco Zambon (TT 12.88) 6-0, 6-2

6. Will Stein (TCU 13.30) def. Connor Curry (TT 12.93) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. #19 Will Stein/Nick Chappell (TCU) def. #25 Felipe Soares/Hugo Dojas (TT) 6-4

2. #18 Trevor Johnson/Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. Jolan Cailleau/Alex Sendegeya (TT) 6-2

3. Guillermo Nuñez/Hudson Blake (TCU) vs. Connor Curry/Francisco Zambon (TT) 5-2, unf

Match Notes

Texas Tech 16-5, 0-1; National ranking #21

TCU 16-6, 2-2; National ranking #10

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

T-2:45

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In Oxford, Ole Miss would defeat Tennessee for the 6th time in a row with a 4-0 shutout.  Ole Miss took the doubles point which included at win at #1 by Nik Scholtz and Zvonimir Babic over the ITA #2 team of Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese.  The Rebels kept things rolling in singles and picked up 3 straight set wins from Stefan Lindmark, Gustav Hansson, and Ricardo Jorge at 2, 3, and 5 Lindmark providing the clincher.  Tennessee was up on 2 of the 3 remaining courts but those matches would be halted at the clinch.

Ole Miss recap

"They are very good in doubles, so for us to get the doubles point, I think it kind of deflated them a little," head coach Toby Hansson said. "We played solid at three doubles. They have a great team at one, very experienced, so to get that win was huge to clinch the point."

"Every team out here is a good team, so we don't really look at the rankings too much, Scholtz said. "We know that if we don't play well, we're not going to win. Today we played solid. With the new rules, if you let up in doubles, it's over quick. Getting the doubles point gives you such a momentum boost. You could see that most everyone fed off the doubles point and played really well in singles. We took care of business.  Obviously I am a little disappointed I couldn't finish my match, but at the end of the day it's a team sport, and we won 4-0."

"I played pretty well today," Lindmark said. "He's a great player, but the match-up favored me. I knew that he didn't like to play long rallies, and I like playing that type of player. Prior to this match, I didn't realize I was undefeated until I saw it being mentioned.  To be honest I thought about it more this match and it made me a little nervous."

"In the locker room we talked about how the doubles point is only one point, and we needed to maintain the momentum," Coach Hansson said. "We controlled the singles from the beginning. Gus had three deciding points go against him, but he when he finally got that break he was able to win the set and then get up big in the second. Ricardo had a tough match-up with a solid lefty at six, but he played well.  How fitting for Stefan to close it out, he is playing some excellent tennis right now. It was a very impressive performance tonight with a great crowd for Easter weekend."

Below is match point via Ole Miss's YouTube Page

Tennessee recap

#13 Ole Miss 4, Tennessee 0

April 2, 2015 at Oxford, Mississippi (Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. #15 Nik Scholtz (OM 14.15) vs. #14 Mikelis Liebietis (UT 14.34) 6-3, 3-3, unf

2. #84 Stefan Lindmark (OM 14.19) def. #119 Jack Schipanski (UT 13.11) 6-3, 6-1

3. Gustav Hansson (OM 13.69) def. Luis Valero (UT 13.32) 6-4, 6-0

4. Igor Smelyanski (UT 13.29) vs. William Kallberg (OM 13.25) 6-3, 3-5, unf

5. Jess Jones (UT 13.09) vs. Vinod Gowda (OM 12.93) 6-1, 5-2, unfinished

6. Ricardo Jorge (OM 13.11) def. Andrew Dromsky (UT 12.26) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition

1. Nik Scholtz/Zvonimir Babic (OM) def. #2 Mikelis Liebietis/Hunter Reese (UT) 6-4

2. Andrew Dromsky/Igor Smelyanski (UT) def. Stefan Lindmark/Gustav Hansson (OM) 6-3

3. William Kallberg/Grey Hamilton (OM) def. Jack Schipanski/Luis Valero (UT) 6-1

Match Notes

Tennessee 11-10, 3-6

Ole Miss 14-6, 6-3; National ranking #13

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

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After a rough, rough start to the year, Kentucky has finally started putting things together and tonight they made it 2 ranked wins in a row with a 4-1 win over #58 Arkansas. The Wildcats took the doubles point and then picked up straight set wins in singles from Beck Pennington, Jerry Lopez, and Jake Stefanik.  Arkansas's lone point came from Santiago Munoz at #4 singles.

Kentucky recap

Arkansas recap

Kentucky 4, #58 Arkansas 1

April 2, 2015 at Fayetteville, Arkansas (George M. Billingsley TC) 

Singles competition

1. #62 Beck Pennington (KY 13.51) def. #81 Giammarco Micolani (ARK 13.57) 7-5, 6-3

2. Jerry Lopez (KY 13.51) def. William Albanese (ARK 12.42) 6-2, 6-3

3.  William Bushamuka (KY 13.28) vs. Jovan Parlic (ARK 12.76) 6-2, 0-6, 4-1, unf

4. Santiago Munoz (ARK 12.74) def. Trey Yates (KY 13.01) 6-3, 6-3

5. Johan den Toom (ARK 12.69) vs. Nils Ellefsen (KY 12.26) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0, unf

6. Jake Stefanik (KY 12.86) def. David Herrerias (ARK 12.60) 6-0, 6-4

Doubles competition

1. Santiago Munoz/Branch Terrell (ARK) def. #59 Kevin Lai/Beck Pennington (KY) 6-3

2. Nils Ellefsen/Jerry Lopez (KY) def. Jovan Parlic/Giammarco Micolani (ARK) 6-4

3. William Bushamuka/Trey Yates (KY) def. Johan den Toom/William Albanese (ARK) 6-4

Match Notes:

Kentucky 11-13, 2-7 SEC

Arkansas 11-12, 1-8 SEC

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