The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas Tech
No. 5 Men's Tennis defeats No. 13 Texas Tech, 4-3
04.03.2010 | Men's Tennis
April 3, 2010
LUBBOCK, Texas -- No. 5 Texas (19-2, 3-0 Big 12) claimed the doubles point and held off a formidable Red Raiders effort in singles to post a 4-3 victory over No. 13 Texas Tech (17-2, 0-1 Big 12) Saturday afternoon at Tech's McLeod Tennis Center. It marks the Longhorns' ninth victory over an ITA top-25 opponent this season.
Texas asserted itself early in doubles and notched a pair of wins to earn the doubles point. Juniors Kellen Damico and Ed Corrie got it started for the Horns at second doubles with an 8-5 win over Tech's 40th-ranked duo of Gonzalo Escobar and Andre Stabile. UT's rock-solid tandem of seniors Dimitar Kutrovsky and Josh Zavala clinched the doubles point at the first slot with an 8-5 win over the Red Raiders' 20th-ranked tandem of Raony Carvalho and Rafael Garcia.
UT's 56th-ranked duo of Jean Andersen and Daniel Whitehead went to a tiebreaker at third doubles against Tech's Vitor Manzini and David Gonzalez, and the Red Raiders' tandem prevailed in the tiebreaker, 7-5.
Kutrovsky posted his second win in the last month over a top-10 singles opponent when he toppled Tech's sixth-ranked Carvalho at first singles, 6-4, 6-0 to stake Texas to a 2-0 lead. Tech's 72nd-ranked Escobar put the Red Raiders on the board at second singles with a 6-3, 6-4 win over UT's Corrie at second singles. The Red Raiders evened the match at third singles when Garcia outlasted UT's Damico at third singles, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Trailing a set and a service break at fourth singles, UT's Andersen rallied to take the second set off of Tech's Stabile at fourth singles, 7-5. Andersen turned the match around completely in the third set, as he gave the Horns a boost with a 6-0 third-set win that gave Texas a 3-2 lead.
At fifth singles, Texas' 81st-ranked Zavala dropped the first set to Tech's Manzini, 6-4, but Zavala broke Manzini early on in set two and held on to win the set, 6-4. Zavala broke early again in the final set, and though Manzini pulled within 5-4 in set three, Zavala held on to take the set, 6-4 and provide the clinching point for the Longhorns.
At sixth singles, UT's Vasko Mladenov dropped the first set to Tech's Raphael Pfister, 7-5 before rallying to take the second, 6-4. With Mladenov trailing 5-4 in the final set and Zavala having just clinched the Texas victory, UT elected to abandon the match at sixth singles due to travel-related time constraints. Texas resumes play on Wednesday, April 7 when it hosts Tulsa at 6 p.m. Central.
No. 5 Texas 4, No. 13 Texas Tech 3
Doubles - Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
1 #6 Dimitar Kutrovsky/Josh Zavala (UT) def. #20 Raony Carvalho/Rafael Garcia (TTU) - 8-5
2 #18 Kellen Damico/Ed Corrie (UT) def. #40 Gonzalo Escobar/Andre Stabile (TTU) - 8-5
3 Vitor Manzini/David Gonzalez (TTU) def. #56 Jean Andersen/Daniel Whitehead (UT) - 9-8 (5)
Singles - Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
1 #10 Dimitar Kutrovsky (UT) def. #6 Raony Carvalho (TTU) - 6-4, 6-0
2 #72 Gonzalo Escobar (TTU) def. #18 Ed Corrie (UT) - 6-3, 6-4
3 Rafael Garcia (TTU) def. #82 Kellen Damico (UT) - 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
4 Jean Andersen (UT) def. Andre Stabile (TTU) - 3-6, 7-5, 6-0
5 #81 Josh Zavala (UT) def. Vitor Manzini (TTU) - 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
6 Raphael Pfister (TTU) def. Vasko Mladenov (UT) - 7-5, 4-6, 5-4, ret.
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Michael Center
On the doubles session: I thought we were really solid in doubles. We had good energy and we were in control of our matches. We served for the match at No.3 doubles. I thought we just stuck with it today. Our energy was positive, and I'm pleased with what I saw in doubles.
On Dimitar Kutrovsky's win at No. 1 singles: That was huge for us. His opponent is a great talent, a great player. For Dimi to get off the court with a win over the No. 6 player in the country was big for us today. There were a lot of hard-fought matches out there. It took a lot of energy and effort against an excellent team to get the win today. Texas Tech has very good players up and down its lineup.
On Josh Zavala's clinching victory: He lost a tight first set, and got up quickly in the second and held on to win. We were up in the match, 3-2 with he and Vasko Mladenov left on the courts. Josh has been in that situation so many times. He knows how to get it done, and he did it again today. He is tough in the clutch. That has been his M.O. at Texas.
On Jean Andersen's win: Jean was very erratic for the first set-and-a-half, but I think he won the last 10 games of the match. He played fantastic in the third set and volleyed the ball well. It was a big momentum switch to have he and Vasko force third sets in their matches. It was critical in turning the momentum in our favor.
