The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
No. 6 Men's Tennis holds off No. 13 Oklahoma, 4-3
03.31.2017 | Men's Tennis
Senior George Goldhoff holds on for three-set clincher as UT head coach Michael Center picks up his 500th career win and 342nd victory with the Longhorns.
NORMAN, Okla. – No. 6 Texas (18-4, 1-0 Big 12) picked up the doubles point and added three hard-fought wins from sophomores Rodrigo Banzer and Leonardo Telles and senior George Goldhoff in a 4-3 victory over No. 13 Oklahoma (12-6) Friday evening at OU's Headington Family Tennis Center.
Texas and Oklahoma were engaged in a tight contest through the first few games of the doubles session before the Longhorns took control at the third and first courts to win the doubles point. UT freshman Christian Sigsgaard and sophomore Julian Zlobinsky finished off the Sooners' Mason Bridegan and Adrian Oetzbach by a 6-2 count at third doubles.
Texas nailed down the doubles point at the second position where sophomore Harrison Scott and freshman Yuya Ito defeated OU's Spencer Papa and Jochen Bertsch, 6-3. The remaining match at first doubles was suspended.
Oklahoma evened the match with a win at first singles, but Banzer put the Horns back on top with his 6-4, 6-2 win over Arnaud Restifo at sixth singles. The Sooners responded at third singles with a straight-sets win from Florin Bragusi.
UT's Telles put the Horns back in the lead by way of his 6-3, 6-4 win over Oetzbach at fifth singles, but the Sooners responded once more and evened the tally at three, as OU's Alex Ghilea outlasted UT's Harrison Scott at second singles.
Goldhoff advanced to a third set against OU's Bertsch at fourth singles and took control from the outset. The Californian held serve throughout the set and broke Bertsch twice for a 5-0 lead. Bertsch held serve to pull within 5-1, but Goldhoff followed suit and finished off the Longhorns' 4-3 win over the Sooners in Norman.
"We got down in the doubles, but the guys did a great job of coming back," said UT head coach Michael Center. "It was a huge point for us tonight. I knew those guys at one, two and three are experienced, and we've struggled with them. We knew we would have to work hard to get a point there. We came up short at those spots, but the guys got the job done at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 tonight. We'll take the win and get ready for Oklahoma State on Sunday."
Friday's win marked the 500th career victory for Center in his 25-plus seasons as a head coach. Center holds a 500-193 (.722) overall record in coaching stops at Kansas (men and women), TCU and Texas. He holds a 342-125 (.732) mark in his 16-plus seasons with the Longhorns.
"It feels good to know I've had that many good players and teams and to do it for this long," Center said. "It's nice to win it here because I remember some tough losses here. That makes it even more special, but more importantly, we need to get ready for Sunday."
Texas heads to Stillwater to meet Oklahoma State on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
No. 6 Texas 4, No. 13 Oklahoma 3
Doubles
1 George Goldhoff/Leonardo Telles (UT) vs. Alex Ghilea/Florin Bragusi(OU), 4-4, susp.
2 Yuya Ito/Harrison Scott (UT) def. Spencer Papa/Jochen Bertsch (OU), 6-3
3 Christian Sigsgaard/Julian Zlobinsky (UT) def. Mason Bridegan/Adrian Oetzbach (OU), 6-2
Singles – Order of Finish: 1, 6, 3, 5, 2, 4
1 No. 28 Spencer Papa (OU) def. No. 16 Christian Sigsgaard (UT), 6-1, 6-1
2 No. 49 Alex Ghilea (OU) def. No. 46 Harrison Scott (UT), 7-6, 6-4
3 No. 97 Florin Bragusi (OU) def. No. 29 Yuya Ito (UT), 6-4, 7-5
4 George Goldhoff (UT) def. Jochen Bertsch (OU), 6-2, 6-7, 6-1
5 No. 112 Leonardo Telles (UT) def. Adrian Oetzbach (OU), 6-3, 6-4
6 Rodrigo Banzer (UT) def. Arnaud Restifo (OU), 6-4, 6-2
Players Mentioned
