The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Florida State
No. 11 Men's Tennis holds off Florida State, 4-2
03.10.2012 | Men's Tennis
March 10, 2012
HOUSTON - No. 11 Texas (12-4) dropped the doubles point but produced four singles victories to emerge with a 4-2 win over No. 32 Florida State (11-3) indoors Saturday evening at The Downtown Club at The Met. The match had been scheduled to be played Saturday morning outdoors at UT's Penick-Allison Tennis Center, but the match was relocated Friday to Houston with the threat of inclement weather Saturday in Austin.
UT's 35th-ranked doubles duo of Chris Camillone and David Holiner opened the doubles session with an 8-3 win over the Seminoles' Anderson Reed and Dominic Cotrone. But, the Seminoles claimed the matches at the second and third positions to take the doubles point and assume a 1-0 lead.
Texas' Holiner put the Horns on the board at fifth singles, where he dealt the Seminoles' Jason Zafiros a 6-1, 6-2 defeat. Florida State reclaimed the lead with a win at sixth singles, but the Longhorns claimed the next three decisions to clinch the victory and end the match.
UT's Sudanwa Sitaram evened the match at two with a 6-4, 6-3 win at third singles over FSU's Cristian Gonzalez Mendez. The Horns took a 3-2 lead after the 50th-ranked Soren Hess-Olesen rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over FSU's Jordan Kelly-Houston at first singles. Texas clinched the victory at second singles, where Daniel Whitehead rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over the Seminoles' Blake Davis.
Texas hosts top-ranked, three-time defending NCAA champion USC on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Central at Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
No. 11 Texas 4, No. 32 Florida State 2
Doubles - Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
1 Chris Camillone/David Holiner (UT) def. Anderson Reed/Dominic Cotrone (FSU) - 8-3
2 Blake Davis/Jordan Kelly-Houston (FSU) def. Ben Chen/Daniel Whitehead (UT) - 8-6
3 Andres Bucaro/Benjamin Lock (FSU) def. Soren Hess-Olesen/Alex Hilliard (UT) - 8-6
Singles - Order of Finish: 5, 6, 3, 1, 2
1 #50 Soren Hess-Olesen (UT) def. Jordan Kelly-Houston (FSU) - 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
2 #79 Daniel Whitehead (UT) def. Blake Davis (FSU) - 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
3 Sudanwa Sitaram (UT) def. Cristian Gonzalez Mendez (FSU) - 6-4, 6-3
4 Ben Chen (UT) vs. Andres Bucaro (FSU) - 4-6, 6-3, 5-5, susp.
5 David Holiner (UT) def. Jason Zafiros (FSU) - 6-1, 6-2
6 Anderson Reed (FSU) def. Chris Camillone (UT) - 6-4, 6-1
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Michael Center
It was a tough match. There were a lot of ups and downs tonight, but the guys kept fighting the whole way. We had several momentum swings just in doubles, alone. We were up two breaks at No. 2 doubles, but we just didn't finish that one. They (FSU) got control of singles early on, and we fought back. I think this win is reflective of our team and how hard they can fight and stick together. Florida State has a really good team this year, and this is a really good win.
