The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
SMU
No. 4 Men's Tennis puts away SMU, 4-1
01.15.2017 | Men's Tennis
Longhorns remain unbeaten heading into next weekend’s matches at Tulsa and Arkansas.
DALLAS – No. 4 Texas (3-0) dropped the doubles point but produced four singles wins to secure a 4-1 win Sunday evening over host SMU at the SMU Tennis Complex.
UT's George Goldhoff and Leonardo Telles posted a 6-0 win over SMU's Yates Johnson and Markus Kerner at second doubles, but the Mustangs pulled out a pair of hard-fought decisions at the first and third doubles positions to win the doubles point and assume a 1-0 lead.
"The doubles (point) was a real battle, but we're definitely improving in our doubles," said Texas head coach Michael Center. "We played great at No. 2 to win at 6-0, which was fantastic. We lost two very tough matches at Nos. 1 and 3, but the guys battled back and won five first sets in singles."
UT freshman Yuya Ito remained unbeaten in dual-match play and evened the match at one by way of his 7-5, 6-4 win over Hunter Johnson at second singles. Sophomore Harrison Scott gave Texas a lead it wouldn't relinquish when he dispatched Markus Kerner by a 6-3, 7-5 count at fourth singles.
UT's sixth-ranked freshman Christian Sigsgaard split his first two sets with SMU's Ronald Slobodchikov at first singles but claimed the third set 6-3 to push the Longhorns' lead to 3-1. UT redshirt sophomore Julian Zlobinsky finished off the 4-1 win for the Longhorns by posting a 7-6, 6-2 win over the Mustangs' Yates Johnson at fifth singles. The remaining matches were suspended.
"I thought it was a great team win today," Center added. "The guys had a great attitude and just a great team spirit. Obviously we have a lot of work to do. But, it's tough to beat SMU here, so I was really proud of the guys. We're going to get ready to go play two more tough road matches at Tulsa and Arkansas next weekend."
No. 4 Texas 4, SMU 1
Doubles – Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
1 Ronald Slobodchikiv/Samm Butler (SMU) def. Christian Sigsgaard/Yuya Ito (UT), 7-5
2 George Goldhoff/Leonardo Telles (UT) def. Yates Johnson/Markus Kerner (SMU), 6-0
3 Hunter Johnson/Arkadijs Slobodkins (SMU) def. Harrison Scott/Julian Zlobinsky (UT), 7-6
Singles – Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 5
1 No. 6 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. Ronald Slobodchikiv (SMU), 6-0, 3-6, 6-3
2 No. 36 Yuya Ito (UT) def. Hunter Johnson (SMU), 7-5, 6-4
3 George Goldhoff (UT) vs. Samm Butler (SMU), 7-6, 2-3, susp.
4 No. 47 Harrison Scott (UT) def. Markus Kerner (SMU), 6-3, 7-5
5 Julian Zlobinsky (UT) def. Yates Johnson (SMU), 7-6, 6-2
6 Rodrigo Banzer (UT) vs. Arkadijs Slobodkins (SMU), 4-6, 6-2, 1-1, susp.
Players Mentioned
