The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Wake Forest
Homs rallies to lift No. 20 Men’s Tennis past No. 19 Wake Forest, 4-3
01.26.2014 | Men's Tennis
Clement Homs wins a third-set tiebreaker to clinch the win for Texas.
ITA Kick-Off Weekend
No. 20 Texas 4, No. 19 Wake Forest 3
Nashville, Tenn. • Currey Tennis Center
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Junior Clement Homs rallied to win a third-set tiebreaker and clinch a 4-3 team win for Texas Men's Tennis over Wake Forest in the Nashville ITA Kick-Off championship match on Sunday.
With the win, Texas improves to 5-0 and earns an automatic berth in the ITA Indoor National Championships starting on Feb. 14 in Houston, Texas.
Texas won the doubles point as No. 5 Søren Hess-Olesen / Lloyd Glasspool and No. 55 George Goldhoff / Jacoby Lewis earned victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions, respectively. Nick Nauman and Hess-Olesen each won their singles matches to give UT an overall 3-0 lead in the dual.
The Demon Deacons rallied to tie the score, 3-3, with three consecutive singles wins at position Nos. 2, 3 and 4.
All eyes turned to the No. 6 singles position as Homs and Wake Forest's Aws Laaribi would decide the clinching point. Laaribi won the first set, 6-2, before Homs evened match with a 6-4 second-set win. Laaribi answered by taking a 5-2 lead in the third and deciding set, only to see Homs storm back to tie the set, 5-5, and win the tiebreaker, 7-3. Homs survived four of Laaribi's match-points in his comeback victory which and punched UT's ticket to Houston.
"I'm happy for our players because I feel like this team deserves to be at the National Indoors this year," head coach Michael Center said. "Clement did a great job of fighting for that last point. I have to give credit to Wake Forest's effort -- we are very fortunate to get this win today."
The 4-hour, 24-minute dual gave Texas its second consecutive win over a ranked opponent and its first 5-0 start since the 2011 season.
The Longhorns face Alabama (Feb. 1; Austin), Michigan (Feb. 7; Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Illinois (Feb. 9; Chicago) before the start of the ITA Indoor National Championship on Feb. 14 in Houston.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #75 Soren Hess-Olesen (TEX) def. #20 Romain Bogaerts (WFU) 6-2, 6-3
2. #59 Adam Lee (WFU) def. #35 Lloyd Glasspool (TEX) 6-4, 6-3
3. Max Kan (WFU) def. #24 George Goldhoff (TEX) 6-4, 6-4
4. Jon Ho (WFU) def. Adrien Berkowicz (TEX) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Nick Naumann (TEX) def. Pedro Dumont (WFU) 6-5 (7-2), 6-1
6. Clement Homs (TEX) def. Aws Laaribi (WFU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-5 (7-3)
Doubles
1. #5 Soren Hess-Olesen/Lloyd Glasspool (TEX) def. #30 Adam Lee/Pedro Dumont (WFU) 6-5 (7-2)
2. Max Kan/Romain Bogaerts (WFU) vs. Nick Naumann/David Holiner (TEX) 5-4, unfinished
3. #55 George Goldhoff/Jacoby Lewis (TEX) def. Aws Laaribi/Anthony Delcore (WFU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Texas 5-0; National ranking #20
Wake Forest 5-1; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (5,1,2,3,4,6)
ITA Kickoff match - Championship
T-4:24
