The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Rice
No. 5 Men's Tennis tops No. 24 Rice, 4-3
02.24.2008 | Men's Tennis
HOUSTON -- No. 5 Texas (9-1) took the doubles points and captured the first three points of the singles session en route to a 4-3 victory over No. 24 Rice (7-2) Sunday afternoon at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.
"Rice has a great team that really pushed us today," UT coach Michael Center said. "Our guys were ready to play today, and I continue to be impressed with how they play on the road. Now we've got to get ready for Michigan on Tuesday."
Texas claimed the doubles point with wins at the second and third positions. Sophomores Dimitar Kutrovsky (Sofia, Bulgaria) and Josh Zavala (Amarillo, Texas) opened with an 8-4 win at the third slot over Bruno Rosa and Tobias Scheil, and seniors Hubert Chodkiewicz (Corpus Christi, Texas) and Luis Diaz Barriga (Cordoba, Mexico) clinched the point with an 8-4 win at No. 2 over Chong Wang and Filip Zivojinovic.
Kutrovsky pushed the Texas lead to 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 upset win over the Owls' 26th-ranked Rosa, and freshman Ed Corrie (Harpenden, England) defeated Rice's 92nd-ranked Ralph Knupfer, 6-1, 6-4 to extend the lead to 3-0. Diaz Barriga clinched the victory for Texas with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Zivojinovic at fourth singles.
Rice won the remaining matches, all in third sets, to cut the final margin to 4-3. Texas resumes competition on Tuesday, Feb. 26 when it hosts No. 19 Michigan at 6 p.m. Central.
No. 5 Texas 4, No. 24 Rice 3
Doubles - Order of Finish: 2, 3
1. #12 Ralph Knupfer/Christoph Müller (RICE) vs. Kellen Damico/Ed Corrie (TEXAS) 3-4, unfinished
2. Hubert Chodkiewicz/Luis Diaz Barriga (TEXAS) def. Chong Wang/Filip Zivojinovic (RICE) 8-4
3. Josh Zavala/Dimitar Kutrovsky (TEXAS) def. Bruno Rosa/Tobias Scheil (RICE) 8-4
Singles - Order of Finish: 1, 3, 4, 2, 5, 6
1. #54 Dimitar Kutrovsky (TEXAS) def. #26 Bruno Rosa (RICE) 6-2, 6-2
2. #55 Christoph Müller (RICE) def. #18 Kellen Damico (TEXAS) 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 1-0 (10-6)
3. #24 Ed Corrie (TEXAS) def. #92 Ralph Knupfer (RICE) 6-1, 6-4
4. #88 Luis Diaz Barriga (TEXAS) def. Filip Zivojinovic (RICE) 7-5, 6-3
5. Chong Wang (RICE) def. Milan Mihailovic (TEXAS) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
6. Dennis Polyakov (RICE) def. Josh Zavala (TEXAS) 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)
