Sunday Recap: Guns Up - Red Raiders Stick Up OU, Rubin Clinches for Wake Forest, Alabama State is Dancing

Just when we thought the weekend couldn't get any crazier #23 Texas Tech pulled off a 4-3 stunning upset over seemingly unstoppable #1 Oklahoma.

Texas Tech was just 7-9 in doubles coming in but they managed to take the point over Oklahoma by winning 6-3 at #3 doubles and 7-6(6) at #1.  Oklahoma was 12-10 in doubles coming in but time and time again they overcame the early deficit to come back and win - not today.  (TT's live scoring & recap showed Nick Papac with Spencer Papa at #3 dubs but it was Florin Bragusi who partnered with Papa).

Oklahoma would take the opening set at 1, 2, 4, and 6 singles while Texas Tech took the opening set at 3 and 5.  Texas Tech's Alex Sendegeya would run his dual match record to 17-6 with a 6-2, 6-3 upset over #30 Dane Webb which extended the Tech lead to 2-0.

Oklahoma would then make a run by winning the next 3 completed matches as Axel Alvarez, Andrew Harris, and Florin Bragusi each won in straight sets at 1, 2, and 6 singles.  Oklahoma would now lead 3-2 but they were trailing in each of the other 2 matches.

Texas Tech's Jolan Cailleau would then tie it at 3-3 as he won the only match that went 3 sets when he defeated Alex Ghilea 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 at #4 singles.



It all came down to #5 singles where Texas Tech's Francisco Zambon had a set lead on OU's Spencer Papa.  Zambon served to stay in the 2nd set at 4-5 and 5-6 and held both times to push the set to a tiebreak.  Zambon would get the mini break to go up 6-5 then the senior from Campinas, Brazil would close it out and Texas Tech had its 1st ever win over a #1 program.  The video clip below is courtesy of Texas Tech and it shows Zambon putting away match point at the net.



Texas Tech recap

"What makes this so special is that it was Fran, our senior captain who closed out the match," said Red Raider head coach Tim Siegel. "Doubles, Alex, Jolan, Fran ... what can I say. I am really in shock that we beat the No. 1 team in the nation. The fact that it came down to Francisco Zambon was absolutely perfect."

"This was amazing," said Red Raider senior Francisco Zambon. "We have been preparing for this the entire year. We played like we have been playing. We didn't do anything different.

"I have had some very good memories and some very bad memories over the last four years, but today is something special for myself, the entire team, coach (Siegel) and (assistant coach) James (Wilson). It something I will always remember."

"I do not know if there is any other place in college tennis where the crowd is like that. I am just so excited to play Baylor next week," added Zambon.

Oklahoma recap

#23 Texas Tech 4, #1 Oklahoma 3

Lubbock, Texas (McLeod Tennis Center)

Singles

1. #2 Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU 14.77) def. #35 Felipe Soares (TT 13.60) 7-6 (4), 6-3

2. #7 Andrew Harris (OU 14.85) def. Hugo Dojas (TT 13.50) 6-3, 6-1

3. Alex Sendegeya (TT 13.57) def. #30 Dane Webb (OU 14.25) 6-2, 6-3

4. #114 Jolan Cailleau (TT 13.43) def. #70 Alex Ghilea (OU 14.20) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

5. Francisco Zambon (TT 12.90) def. Spencer Papa (OU 13.87) 6-4, 7-6 (5)

6. Florin Bragusi (OU 13.60) def. Connor Curry (TT 12.93) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles

1. #33 Felipe Soares/Hugo Dojas (TT) def. #8 Axel Alvarez Llamas/Dane Webb (OU) 7-6 (6)

2. #52 Andrew Harris/Alex Ghilea (OU) def. Jolan Cailleau/Alex Sendegeya (TT) 7-6 (1)

3. Francisco Zambon/Connor Curry (TT) def. Spencer Papa/Florin Bragusi (OU) 6-3

Match Stats

Records: #1 Oklahoma (21-2, 3-1 Big 12); #23 Texas Tech (18-6, 2-2 Big 12).

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

Note: This is Texas Tech's first-ever win over a team ranked No. 1.

T-2:35 A-719

FYI, the number beside the player's school is the player's Universal Tennis Rating as of April 11th.  For more details about UTR check out their website. 

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Wake Forest opened it up by taking the doubles point with an 8-6 win at #3 and an 8-7(5) win at 2. The Demon Deacons followed that up that by taking the opening set on all 6 courts and it looked like the rout was on after the Deacs picked up straight set wins from Maksim Kan and Romain Bogaerts at 2 and 6.

North Carolina however would fight back by taking the 2nd set on each of the 4 remaining courts. The amazing thing about taking all those 2nd sets was the fact that UNC was down a break in 3 of them.  UNC's Robert Kelly put the Tar Heels on the board by defeating Christian Seraphim at #5 singles and while both Brett Clark and Jack Murray had pushed their matches into a 3rd set it wasn't looking as promising at #1.  UNC's Brayden Schnur was able to force a 3rd set against Noah Rubin but Rubin would quickly race out to a 4-0 lead and would end up cruising to the finish line for the 7-6, 2-6, 6-2 win.

After the match had been decided both Clark and Murray completed their comebacks by each winning in 3.  Clark actually came back from 5-2 down to win his final set 7-5.

Wake Forest recap 

North Carolina recap

#13 Wake Forest 4, #16 North Carolina 3

April 12, 2015 - Winston-Salem, NC (Wake Forest Tennis Complex)

Singles competition                                                                                    

1. #26 Noah Rubin (WF 14.88) def. #15 Brayden Schnur (UNC 14.55) 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2

2. #13 Romain Bogaerts (WF 14.34) def. #24 Ronnie Schneider (UNC 14.20) 6-2, 6-3

3. #71 Brett Clark (UNC 13.79) def. Skander Mansouri (WF 13.19) 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-5

4. Jack Murray (UNC 14.12) def. #103 Jon Ho (WF 13.71) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1

5. #109 Robert Kelly (UNC 13.56) def. Christian Seraphim (WF 13.68) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2

6. Maksim Kan (WF 13.33) def. Stuart DePaolo (UNC 12.46) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. #59 Robert Kelly/Brett Clark (UNC) def. #9 Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (WF) 8-6

2. Jon Ho/Noah Rubin (WF) def. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (UNC) 8-7 (7-5)

3. Romain Bogaerts/Keivon Tabrizi (WF) def. Andrew Gores/Esben Hess-Olesen (UNC) 8-6

Match Notes

North Carolina 17-9 (6-4 ACC); National ranking #16

Wake Forest 17-6 (7-3 ACC); National ranking #13

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

Match played outdoors.

Match delayed one hour due to WF women's tennis match beforehand.
T-4:04 A-458

Who Wins on Sunday in Winston-Salem

#13 Wake Forest	25 (51%)
#16 North Carolina	24 (48%)

Votes so far: 49
Poll closed 

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Baylor got off to a slow start in doubles but still managed to pick up the point by taking both 1 and 3 in tiebreakers.  The singles portion took a while, due to a few rain delays, but Baylor pulled through with wins from Max Tchoutakian, Diego Galeano, and Felipe Rios at 3, 4, and 6.  Oklahoma State was very competitive on some of the other courts as well.  Big time match for Baylor coming up on Wednesday in Austin against Texas.

Baylor recap

TOP QUOTE #1

"Well we started slow. We didn't come out the way that we would like to come out in the doubles. We are obviously a little lucky to win two tie-breakers in matches that we easily could have lost. It's a credit to the guys - when the chips were down they found a way to win and that's a great sign of a great competitor." - head coach Matt Knoll on the doubles

TOP QUOTE #2

"We were able to scratch out some tough games today. It was a good finish for us. We kind of got our minds right and started to roll." - Knoll on the win

TOP QUOTE #3

"We've got to figure out how to be at our best when our best is needed. It's needed when you are playing big matches. It's a process for us. I'm happy to get through it. We're going to have to be a heck of a lot better when we go down to Austin on Wednesday." - Knoll on what his team needs to do to improve

TOP QUOTE #4

"Well you need guys doing that. Anytime you get a quick point, it makes a heck of a difference. You kind of back your opponent into a corner. Once we kind of got rolling, we started backing them into a corner. There was a point there when they won the second set on two and a lot of the first sets were close and this thing could have gone either way. Then we won all those other close sets and we just started to roll." - Knoll on Rios' quick singles win

OK State recap

#2 Baylor 4, #25 Oklahoma State 0

Apr 12, 2015 at Waco, Texas (Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. #1 Julian Lenz (BU 14.78) vs. #39 Jakob Sude (OKST 13.71) 7-5, 2-5 unf

2. #31 Tony Lupieri (BU 14.16) vs. #98 Lucas Gerch (OKST 13.76) 4-6, 6-3, 2-0 unf

3. #61 Max Tchoutakian (BU 14.34) def. #118 Arjun Kadhe (OKST 13.51) 7-5, 6-1

4. Diego Galeano (BU 13.65) def. Lukas Finzelberg (OKST 13.78) 6-3, 6-4

5. #117 Mate Zsiga (BU 13.87) vs. Nicolai Ferrigno (OKST 13.50) 7-5, 4-3 unf

6. Felipe Rios (BU 13.84) def. Jurence Mendoza (OKST 13.01) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. #54 Diego Galeano/Julian Lenz (BU) def. #26 Jakob Sude/Arjun Kadhe (OKST) 7-6 (7-4)

2. Nicolai Ferrigno/Lucas Gerch (OKST) def. #51 Tony Lupieri/Mate Zsiga (BU) 6-2

3. Vince Schneider/Felipe Rios (BU) def. Lukas Finzelberg/Jurence Mendoza (OKST) 7-6 (7-2)

Match Notes

Oklahoma State 16-7 (0-4); National ranking #25

Baylor 18-4 (2-1); National ranking #2

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

Match had two rain delays.

Rain delay 1 was 3 minutes (3:39-3:42)

Rain delay 2 was 40 minutes (4:15-4:55)
Match was moved to Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center during second delay.

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#4 Virginia ran its ACC winning streak to 134 consecutive matches with a routine 6-1 win over #29 Louisville.  Virginia won 5 of 6 singles matches in straight sets as Mitchell Frank, Ryan Shane, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, J.C. Aragone, and Henrik Wiersholm were all victorious.   Louisville picked up its lone point from Seb Stiefelmeyer at #1 singles as he defeated Virginia's Collin Altamirano in a 10 point tiebreak that was played in lieu of a 3rd set.

Virginia recap

"I thought the team played well today," said head coach Brian Boland. "There were great conditions to play and I was happy we could have a result like this to close out our regular season home schedule. We once again had a great crowd out here and hopefully we will get to play two more matches in this atmosphere in the NCAAs."

"Outside of the success our players have had long after they have left here, there is nothing I am more proud of than the consistency we have had as a program," said Boland. "We have tremendous respect for the ACC and to win 12 straight regular season titles is an incredible accomplishment."

Louisville recap

#4 Virginia 6, #28 Louisville 1

Apr 12, 2015 at Charlottesville, Va. (Snyder Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. #8 Seb Stiefelmeyer (LOU 14.61) def. #72 Collin Altamirano (VA 14.81) 3-6, 6-3, 10-5

2. #22 Mitchell Frank (VA 14.90) def. #104 Albert Wagner (LOU 13.79) 6-2, 6-4

3. #3 Ryan Shane (VA 14.71) def. Alex Gornet (LOU 13.65) 6-3, 6-4

4. #14 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA 14.61) def. Chris Simich (LOU 13.33) 6-3, 6-3

5. J.C. Aragone (VA 13.95) def. Van Damrongsri (LOU 12.35) 6-0, 6-2

6. Henrik Wiersholm (VA 13.49) def. Luis Elizondo (LOU 12.28) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition

1. #4 Luca Corinteli/Ryan Shane (VA) vs. #56 Jeffrey Brown/Alex Gornet (LOU) 6-7, unf

2. #55 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Mac Styslinger (VA) def. Van Damrongsri/Albert Wagner (LOU) 8-3

3. Mitchell Frank/Collin Altamirano (VA) def. Chris Simich/Seb Stiefelmeyer (LOU) 8-4

Match Notes

Louisville 23-6, 7-4; National ranking #28

Virginia 18-3, 10-0; National ranking #4

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,4,3,6,2,1)
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Alabama State won its 1st ever Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championship with a 4-2 win over Jackson State.

Alabama State recap

"I am so happy for these players and Alabama State," Head Coach Anuk Christiansz said.  "When Coach Seman' and I got here there was not a lot of history or tradition with the program and these players have worked so hard and they are the ones that won this championship.  They are a close knit team and to see them cheering for each other in today's match just showed how close they are."

"Being part of a team that is bringing ASU their first conference title means a lot and will mean even more in the future as we continue to build the foundation for this program," Christiansz said.  "We want this to be the first of many championships and will continue to work hard to do that.  Now we can't forget, the season is not over and we now will continue to practice and look forward to where we may wind up in the NCAA Regionals."

Here is match point courtesy of Alabama State

SWAC Championship:

Alabama State University 4, Jackson State University 2

Apr 12, 2015 at New Orleans, LA (City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. Takura Mlambo (ASU 12.08) def. Federico Boscarino (JSU 11.87) 6-7, 6-1, 6-3

2. Ronald Mataba (ASU 11.10) def. Carlos Martinez (JSU 11.28) 7-5, 6-2

3. Stelios Gkontsaris (JSU 10.48) def. Patrik Cvik (ASU 11.24) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6

4. Camilo Patino (JSU 10.14) def. Karlo Skvorc (ASU 10.45) 6-1, 6-4

5. Jarred Thompson (ASU 9.87) vs. Federico Mendieta (JSU 10.26) 6-4, 2-6, 2-1 unf

6. Adam Coyne (ASU 10.72) def. Vishu Prasad (JSU 9.27) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. Patrik Cvik/Jarred Thompson (ASU) def. Carlos Martinez/Federico Boscarino (JSU) 7-6

2. Takura Mlambo/Karlo Skvorc (ASU) def. Richie Argawal/Stelios Gkontsaris (JSU) 6-2

3. Adam Coyne/Ronald Mataba (ASU) vs. Hernan Geria/Camilo Patino (JSU) 6-6

Match Notes

Jackson State 5-20

Alabama State University 12-15

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

T-4:00  A-30

Updated Top 25

Rank	School	Points
1	Oklahoma	84.31
2	Baylor	74.70
3	Illinois	69.58
4	Virginia	65.47
5	Georgia	63.79
6	Texas A&M	63.66
7	TCU	61.32
8	Duke	60.44
9	USC	58.73
10	Texas	58.00
11	Ohio State	47.91
12	Wake Forest	45.50
13	Ole Miss	43.59
14	Virginia Tech*	41.65
15	North Carolina*	41.65
16	Texas Tech	40.98
17	Florida	39.17
18	San Diego	39.10
19	UCLA	39.06
20	Mississippi State	36.42
21	South Florida	36.40
22	Vanderbilt	36.27
23	Columbia*	34.23
24	Stanford*	33.40
25	LSU*	29.56

* means they have a win over an unranked team