The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas A&M
No. 14 Men's Tennis earns 4-1 victory against No. 11 Texas A&M at ITA National Indoor Championship
02.18.2012 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 18, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The No. 14 University of Texas Men's Tennis team posted an impressive 4-1 victory against No. 11 Texas A&M on Saturday morning in the consolation bracket at the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship at Boar's Head Sports Club. Texas improves to 7-3 on the year in dual-match action, while the Aggies fall to 5-4. Saturday's match against the Aggies does not count in the Big 12 Conference standings or as part of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown.
Texas started the match strong with a dominating 8-0 win at No. 3 doubles by Sudanwa Sitaram and Daniel Whitehead. UT clinched the doubles point at the second position, as Chris Camillone and David Holiner defeated Texas A&M's No. 36-ranked duo of Colin Hoover and John Lewis by an 8-4 count.
Sitaram increased the lead to 2-0 at the third singles spot with a 6-4, 7-6 win against Junior Ore. The UT sophomore was down 4-3 in the opening set before winning three straight games to close out the opening frame.
Holiner then gave the Horns a commanding 3-0 advantage with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles against Jackson Withrow. The Aggies claimed their only point of the match at the sixth singles spot, where Niall Angus defeated Joey Swaysland 6-4, 6-4.
UT freshman Soren Hess-Olesen, ranked No. 93 in the nation, clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles against No. 15-ranked Alexis Klegou. Hess-Olesen fought back from a 3-2 deficit in the first set and never trailed in the second set.
The Longhorns will play their final match at the ITA National Men's Indoor Championship on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 5:30 p.m. Central. Texas will face the winner of tonight's consolation-bracket match between No. 7 Baylor and No. 15 Auburn. This marks UT's sixth consecutive appearance at the annual ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
Post-Match Quotes
Texas Head Coach Michael Center
On the progress of the team after last week's loss to Texas A&M: We have a very young team. Every time we go out, we're learning about ourselves. We'll continue to improve. Today we had a really good day in doubles. Obviously to win 8-0 (at No. 3 doubles) is pretty unusual, and those guys played terrific. We definitely did some things better today in doubles. I thought we got off to some pretty good starts in singles. I think [Texas and A&M] are pretty comparable teams this year, and it's going to come down to a few shots here and there. I thought today our energy level was really good, and we made the plays when we needed to.
On the win at No. 1 singles by freshman Soren Hess-Olesen against No. 15 Alexis Klegou: Soren's a great kid and he works really hard. He wants to be a great player, so I'm not surprised by his success. He's working for it. Alexis beat him last week in a tight match, so I felt like [Hess-Olesen] would have a chance to get in there with him and it would be another great match. Today he made some more plays, and that was a really good result for him.
On what he is looking for moving forward: I think the key for this team is for the guys who didn't play as well, not to get down. We need them to come back and fight really hard the next day, and put it behind them. This is all new for these guys - the dual-match competitions and where they're playing in the lineups. It's all new experiences for them. We just have to continue to fight and compete every day and not get down. That's what I'm looking for tomorrow. If we do that, I think we'll have another great day.
No. 14 Texas 4, No. 11 Texas A&M 1
Doubles - Order of Finish: 3, 2
1. Hess-Olesen/Hilliard (UT) vs. No. 55 Ore/Withrow (A&M) - 5-5, susp.
2. Camillone/Holiner (UT) def. No. 36 Hoover/Lewis (A&M) - 8-4
3. Sitaram/Whitehead (UT) def. Angus/Klegou (A&M) - 8-0
Singles - Order of Finish: 3, 5, 6, 1
1. No. 93 Soren Hess-Olesen (UT) def. No. 15 Alexis Klegou (A&M) - 6-3, 6-3
2. No. 69 Daniel Whitehead (UT) vs. Colin Hoover (A&M) - 6-7, 3-4, susp.
3. Sudanwa Sitaram (UT) def. Junior Ore (A&M) - 6-4, 7-6
4. Lloyd Glasspool (UT) vs. Jeremy Efferding (A&M) - 6-7, 3-4, susp.
5. David Holiner (UT) def. Jackson Withrow (A&M) - 6-2, 6-2
6. Niall Angus (A&M) def. Joey Swaysland (UT) - 6-4, 6-4
