The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Hawai'i
No. 5 Men's Tennis blanks Hawaii, 4-0
01.29.2011 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 29, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas - No. 5 Texas (4-0) won the doubles point and added singles victories from senior Kellen Damico, sophomore Daniel Whitehead and freshman Sudanwa Sitaram in a 4-0 win over Hawaii on Saturday at UT's Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
The match was played as part of the annual ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Rice defeated Alabama by a 4-1 count in the other match at Penick-Allison on Saturday. Texas and Rice will go head-to-head on Sunday at 2 p.m. with the winner advancing to next month's ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Seattle, Wash. Hawaii will meet Alabama at 10 a.m. Central.
Texas got off to a fast start in doubles and quickly secured the doubles point. UT's fifth-ranked duo of Ed Corrie and Jean Andersen struck first at No. 1 doubles with an 8-3 win over Hawaii's Dennis Lajola and Danilo Casanova. Likewise at third doubles, UT's Whitehead and Alex Hilliard broke Hawaii early at third doubles and raced out to an 8-1 win over the Warriors' Jonathan Brooklyn and David Schuster to clinch the doubles point for the Longhorns. The remaining doubles match was suspended.
Damico made short work of Hawaii's Leo Rosenberg and posted a 6-1, 6-2 victory at second singles. Whitehead blanked Hawaii's Casanova in the first set and cruised to a 6-2 second-set win to give Texas a 3-0 lead. Sitaram followed suit and blanked the Warriors' Dmytro Kovalyov in the first set before registering a 6-3 second-set win to give Texas its fourth and match-deciding point. The remaining matches were called given that the match's outcome had been determined.
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Michael Center
"We got out to a great start in doubles and I was happy to get that point the way we did. I'm pleased with the way some of our guys started out and quickly won their first sets. Kellen Damico got off the court in no time. Daniel Whitehead and Sudanwa Sitaram had great starts and were able to finish off their matches decisively. We will have Rice coming up tomorrow. We have a history of great matches with Rice, and I expect another one tomorrow."
ITA Kick-Off Weekend - 1st Round
#5 Texas 4, Hawaii 0
Doubles - Order of Finish: 1, 3
1 #5 Ed Corrie/Jean Andersen (UT) def. Dennis Lajola/Danilo Casanova (Hawaii) - 8-3
2 #35 Kellen Damico/David Holiner (UT) vs. Daniel Llarenas/Jeremy Tweedt (Hawaii) - 7-2, susp.
3 Daniel Whitehead/Alex Hilliard (UT) def. Jonathan Brooklyn/David Schuster (Hawaii) - 8-1
Singles - Order of Finish: 2, 5, 6
1 Ed Corrie (UT) vs. Dennis Lajola (Hawaii) - 3-6, 4-5, susp.
2 Kellen Damico (UT) def. Leo Rosenberg (Hawaii) - 6-1, 6-2
3 Jean Andersen (UT) vs. Jeremy Tweedt (Hawaii) - 6-4, 2-5, susp.
4 #78 Vasko Mladenov (UT) vs. Jonathan Brooklyn (Hawaii) - 7-6, susp.
5 Daniel Whitehead (UT) def. Danilo Casanova (Hawaii) - 6-0, 6-2
6 Sudanwa Sitaram (UT) def. Dmytro Kovalyov (Hawaii) - 6-0, 6-3
