The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Men's Tennis tops Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 4-0, in NCAA Championship First Round
05.09.2008 | Men's Tennis
AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 7 Texas (21-5) took the doubles point and picked up singles wins from seniors Milan Mihailovic and Luis Diaz Barriga and junior Miguel Reyes Varela in a 4-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (15-8) Friday afternoon in the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Tennis Championship.
Texas advances to Saturday's round of 32 where it will meet the winner of Friday's match featuring TCU and Rice. Saturday's match gets underway at 1 p.m. Central at UT's Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
Texas opened the match with a quick doubles win at the third slot, as sophomores Dimitar Kutrovsky and Josh Zavala posted an 8-2 victory over Jaume Farras and Jose Zunino. The Horns closed out the doubles session at the first slot, as freshmen Ed Corrie and Kellen Damico dealt Dmitry Novikov and Mikhail Pavlov a 9-7 defeat.
Texas assumed a 2-0 lead at fifth singles, where Mihailovic hung a 6-2, 6-0 defeat over Zunino. The Horns pushed their cushion to 3-0 when Diaz Barriga finished off Farras at fourth singles, 6-3, 6-2. Reyes Varela closed out the match at sixth singles with his 6-3, 6-0 victory over James Langford.
NCAA Tennis Championship - Round of 64
Penick-Allison Tennis Center
No. 7 Texas 4, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0
Doubles - Order of Finish: 3, 1
1. Corrie/Damico (UT) def. Novikov/Pavlov (TAMUCC) - 9-7
2. Diaz Barriga/Reyes Varela (UT) vs. Montoisy/Langford (TAMUCC) - 5-5 DNF
3. Kutrovsky/Zavala (UT) def. Farras/Zunino (TAMUCC) - 8-2
Singles - Order of Finish: 5, 4, 6
1. Dimitar Kutrovsky (UT) vs. Laurent Montoisy (TAMUCC) - 6-4, 2-1, susp.
2. Kellen Damico (UT) vs. Dmitry Novikov (TAMUCC) - 6-2, 5-5, susp.
3. Ed Corrie (UT) vs. Mikhail Pavlov (TAMUCC) - 6-4, 5-5, susp.
4. Luis Diaz Barriga (UT) def. Jaume Farras (TAMUCC) - 6-3, 6-2
5. Milan Mihailovic (UT) def. Jose Zunino (TAMUCC) - 6-2, 6-0
6. Miguel Reyes Varela (UT) def. James Langford (TAMUCC)- 6-3, 6-0
POST-MATCH QUOTES
HEAD COACH Michael Center
On winning the doubles point: We started off a little tight there in doubles, but we made a great push to win the point. We talked about really trying to take the momentum into the singles and get after the first set and we got all six first sets so that was really nice.
On improving after today's match: I still feel like we can improve in some areas. I still feel like we can be more aggressive in our doubles play we still feel like at times we are giving some points away but I was really pleased to see what we did at five and six singles today. Those guys really worked hard the last couple of weeks and I think it showed. If those guys really start playing the way they played today, I think it makes our team really tough.
On getting wins at four, five and six singles: I thought that was good because really the top of our lineup has won a lot of matches. But four has been really consistent and the guys at five and six are great players. I feel like we're starting to play their best right now so if those guys continue to improve, it makes us that much more of a threat.
FRESHMAN Kellen Damico
On making improvements: There are a couple of things we can improve upon. Everyone playing their best tennis during match time isn't going to happen every time, so we hopefully can keep improving as we progress through the tournament.
SENIOR LUIS DIAZ BARRIGA
On advancing to the second round: We're trying to step it up for the last rounds. We've had a successful year but we think we can take it to the next level for NCAAs. So we're trying to get a good start in Regionals.
