The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Ohio State
No. 14 Men's Tennis falls 4-0 to No. 3 Ohio State at ITA National Indoors
02.17.2012 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 17, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The No. 14 University of Texas men's tennis team made a strong effort in doubles but dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 3 Ohio State on Friday morning in the first round of the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship at Boar's Head Sports Club. Texas fell to 6-3 on the year in dual-match action, while the Buckeyes improved to 10-0.
Ohio State claimed a hard-fought doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Texas picked up a win at No. 2 doubles from David Holiner and Daniel Whitehead, who posted an 8-3 victory over the No. 27-ranked duo of Ille Van Engelen and Devin McCarthy.
The doubles point came down to a tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles between the Texas pair of Jacoby Lewis and Sudanwa Sitaram and Ohio State's duo of Peter Kobelt and Connor Smith. OSU's tandem tallied a 7-4 victory in the tiebreaker to clinch the doubles point.
"We haven't played doubles the way we have wanted. I thought we did some better things today. We actually served for the doubles point, but we came up a little short and lost it in a tiebreaker," said Texas head coach Michael Center. "We played really well at two doubles. At one doubles, they're No. 1 in the country for a reason. They took advantage of every mistake we made today."
The Buckeyes pushed their lead to 2-0 when No. 99 Ille Van Engelen posted a 6-2, 6-0 win over Lloyd Glasspool at No. 4 singles. Ohio State gained another point at second singles, when No. 12 Blaz Rola toppled No. 69 Whitehead by a 6-0, 6-3 count. No. 65 Devin McCarthy clinched the match for the Buckeyes with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over UT's Chris Camillone at No. 5 singles.
"Honestly, I was pretty disappointed with our singles play today. We didn't do some things very well," said Center. "I thought we gave some things away. And that hasn't been our personality all year. We're honestly not good enough to give things away. We've got to compete better from the beginning to the end tomorrow, and cut out some of those mistakes that we made today. Tomorrow (against Texas A&M) should be another good match."
Despite Friday's loss, the Longhorns are guaranteed to play another two matches in the consolation bracket of the tournament. Texas returns to the courts tomorrow (Feb. 18) at 8 a.m. Central, when it will face No. 11 seed Texas A&M.
This marks UT's sixth consecutive appearance at the annual ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
No. 3 Ohio State 4, No. 14 Texas 0
Doubles -- Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
1. No. 1 Buchanan/Rola (OSU) def. Hess-Olesen/Hilliard (UT) - 8-2
2. Holiner/Whitehead (UT) def. No. 27 McCarthy/Van Engelen (OSU) - 8-3
3. Kobelt/Smith (OSU) def. Lewis/Sitaram (UT) -- 9-8 (7-4)
Singles -- Order of Finish: 4, 2, 5
1. No. 93 Soren Hess-Olesen (UT) vs. No. 16 Chase Buchanan (OSU) -- 4-6, 4-4, susp.
2. No. 12 Blaz Rola (OSU) def. No. 69 Daniel Whitehead (UT) - 6-0, 6-3
3. Sudanwa Sitaram (UT) vs. Peter Kobelt (OSU) -- 6-4, 3-6, susp.
4. No. 99 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) def. Lloyd Glasspool (UT) -- 6-2, 6-0
5. No. 65 Devin McCarthy (OSU) def. Chris Camillone (UT) -- 6-3, 6-2
6. David Holiner (UT) vs. No. 107 Connor Smith (OSU) -- 6-2, 2-6, 1-0, susp.
