The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Quotes: Texas vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
05.10.2013 | Men's Tennis
May 10, 2013
QUOTES
Head Coach Michael Center
On the win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: The thing I was looking for today was, "Could we really control the match from start to finish?" I thought we had two pretty good weeks of practice. I'd seen some improvements, but you never know until you see it in competition. I think it was important for us to control the doubles, which I thought we did. Then we really emphasized taking that momentum and getting on top of them in the first sets, and getting all six first sets. So, overall it was a good performance. I saw some things that I think we can still do better. We had some opportunities to kind of separate and I thought we got a little bit passive on a few courts. But overall I thought it was a good effort today.
On the team's double play coming together at this point in the season: It's been a long time coming. We really struggled with that this year. But I though I saw some signs of life against Oklahoma [in the Big 12 Championship], to beat a team like that definitely gave us confidence. Then having David [Holiner] back in there with Chris [Camillone] at No. 1 doubles, they'd been a top-ten team but had struggled. I hadn't played them together in a while. So for them to be able to go out there and perform the way they did today I thought not only give us more strength at No. 1, but also gives the guys more confidence down the line. That was good. I guess there is no better time than now to play doubles.
On the team's mentality: They know if we don't win, the season is over. There is no sense in hanging back and being passive. We've got to continue to be aggressive. I still think we can even play with more aggressiveness tomorrow. That's what I'm looking for. But the guys have come together nicely and they're fighting for each other. They're playing hard. If we do that tomorrow I think we've got a great chance to move on to the Sweet 16 in Illinois.
On tomorrow's second round matchup: I don't want to rule out Marist, but we'll most likely see the Aggies tomorrow. We've played them so many times throughout the years in a lot of big matches. So tomorrow is just another big match. Whether we're playing A&M or Marist tomorrow, it's an opportunity for us to move on in the tournament. But every team wants to move on so it's going to be a real fight.
Senior Daniel Whitehead
On winning the first round match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: We did better than we did last year, so that was good. Coach [Center] says we're gaining momentum at the right time and I definitely agree. We're playing better than we were a month ago for sure. So we feel about playing tomorrow and really want our shot at trying to get to the Round of 16.
On the team's recent improvements in doubles play: That helps us with momentum heading into singles, and it's good to be getting those doubles points now. We're happy with how things are going. We're just ready to keep improving and try to raise our level even more tomorrow.
On if there has been added emphasis to trying to win the doubles point in tournament play: Oh yeah. Any point we can get we're going to go for it. We're not overlooking or expecting to win or lose the doubles point. But we're just going to go for any point we can get.
On his 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 3 singles: I felt good this week of practice. And two weeks ago at the Big 12 tournament I felt like I played well. So I've been happy with how I've been playing, and obviously was happy with getting off the court quickly today.
On potentially facing 12th-seeded Texas A&M in the second round tomorrow: It would just be another shot at the Aggies. That's always a fun one and I always look forward to that.
Sophomore Søren Hess-Olesen:
On today's first round win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: Because there was so much rain this morning, I don't think anyone expected to play as early as two o'clock. I think as soon as we found out we would be playing, we got ready and we were mentally ready to play this first round. We've had two weeks off now. This is all that has been on our mind, except for final exams, of course. So I think we got off to a good start. We were very focused in doubles. That's what we talked about - being focused and trying to win every single point and try to make it easy for ourselves since we have another match tomorrow, so we shouldn't waste any energy.
On winning his No. 3 doubles match with Lloyd Glasspool: I think we were very focused in the match. I talked to Lloyd before the match and was like, "Hey lets go out there, be focused, win the match, and get off the court and get ready for singles." I think we lost the first game, but from there on we stayed focused and made a lot of first serves, made a lot of returns, and made it easy for ourselves. So we ended up getting off the court pretty quickly.
On his 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles: I was down two break-points in the first game, but I won those two points with some good serves and felt very comfortable out there. I've actually felt really comfortable out on the courts the last two weeks. I just carried what Id done on the practice court out to the match court. I felt good out there. I thought I was hitting the ball well and was aggressive. I served the ball well. I was very focused on trying to win every single point.
On clinching the match victory: I actually was focused only on Lloyd's court because that was the court right next to me. I think he was up 4-1 when I was up 4-3 and we were on-serve. But David [Holiner] had just won his first set 7-5, so I thought he had just started his second set. But suddenly I was at match point and I looked over and he was at 5-1, 30-all. So I thought, "If I don't win this point, he might get off the court before me." So luckily I hit an ace and got off the court. I think David was pretty mad about that.
On getting his first match-clinching win of the season: As I always say, there are seven points out there. So if you win the first match, the second match, or the third match - it doesn't really matter. Clinching for me really is when the match is tied at 3-3, and that's where Daniel [Whitehead] comes in to clinch it and win. It was good to clinch it today though because it just felt good to be done and get off the court before Lloyd and David did.
On the team mentality heading into tomorrow's second-round match: I think we feel good. We didn't lose a set today. We were focused. We've had two weeks off where we knew this match was probably going to come up. I think we're very mentally ready. We'll just go out there and put it all out there because it could be the last match of the season. They're probably the favorites if you look at the rankings. So we're just going to give it everything we have.
