The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor (NCAA Championships Round of 16)
No. 10 Men's Tennis overpowers No. 7 Baylor, 4-1, advances to NCAA quarterfinals
05.18.2017 | Men's Tennis
Longhorns rebound from doubles loss with four singles wins and advance to the national quarterfinals for the first time since 2014.
ATHENS, Ga. – No. 10 national seed Texas (22-8) dropped the doubles point but rallied with a vengeance in singles on its way to a 4-1 win over seventh-seeded Baylor (23-8) Thursday in the third round (round of 16) of the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships.
Texas advances to the national quarterfinals for the first time since 2014 and for the fifth time overall under 17th-year head coach Michael Center. The Longhorns will take on second-seeded Virginia in the quarterfinals Saturday (May 20) at noon Eastern (11 a.m. Central). A win on Saturday would send Texas to its first national semifinal since 2009.
Texas opened the match with a victory at second doubles, but the Bears answered with wins at the third and first doubles positions to win the doubles point. Freshman Christian Sigsgaard joined sophomore Colin Markes to post a convincing 6-1 win over BU's 84th-ranked tandem of Johannes Schretter and Jimmy Bendeck. Baylor's Max Tchoutakian and Bjoern Petersen broke UT freshman Yuya Ito and sophomore Harrison Scott for a 5-3 lead at third doubles and served out the next game to win the match, 6-3.
At first doubles, Baylor's Juan Benitez and Will Little broke UT senior George Goldhoff and sophomore Leonardo Telles for a 3-2 lead. That was the only break the Bears needed, as both sides held serve the rest of the way and Baylor emerged with a 6-4 win to take the doubles point.
"We played Baylor at our place about a month ago and we were just awful in the first 15-20 minutes of that match," Center said. "We were on our heels the rest of that match. Today, we lost the doubles point but won quickly at No. 2 doubles and were much more competitive all the way around in doubles. I thought that that energy and attitude carried over into the singles, where we won all six first sets. We competed better from start to finish today."
Goldhoff ensured the Longhorns would not trail much longer, and once he evened the tally at one, there was no turning back for Texas. The Californian shut out Baylor's Petersen in the first set at fourth singles, 6-0, and he cruised to a 6-2 second-set win to even the match at one.
"I'm really proud of George," Center said. "You want to win every match, of course, but if you can win and do it quickly, that can not only get a point on the board but also set the tone for the rest of the match. He won quickly and made it 1-all. It was "game on" from that point on."
Telles followed Goldhoff's lead and put away his first set quickly, as he put Baylor's Little in a 6-1 hole at fifth singles. Little broke Telles and held serve for a 2-0 second-set lead before Telles chipped away at the deficit and took a 4-3 lead. Telles held for 5-4 and broke Little one last time to finish off the second set, 6-4 and give the Longhorns the lead for good.
"The way he (Telles) played at the end of that Tulane match…I just saw a look in his eye," Center said. "I knew if he could just maintain that look that he would be awfully tough to beat. He's an incredible athlete and has a lot of power. He was really focused the last couple of days in practice. That was another one to get off the court, a big point for us."
At second singles, UT's Scott and Baylor's Tchoutakian exchanged service breaks through the first five games before Scott held for a 4-2 first-set lead. Scott broke Tchoutakian once more to close out the first set, 6-3. Scott broke for a 4-2 second-set lead only to see Tchoutakian even the set at five. Scott held for a 6-5 lead and broke Tchoutakian in the next game to finish off the set, 7-5 and give Texas a 3-1 lead.
"Harry was awesome today," Center said. "He just attacks the ball and puts you on your heels, I thought he got a little tentative when Max (Tchoutakian) came back on him a little bit. I told him, "Just play your game and be you. Step up and attack the ball." He did and he put the match away."
At first singles, Baylor's Benitez broke UT's Sigsgaard for four-all in the first set, and both players held serve for the rest of the set, resulting in a tiebreaker. Sigsgaard won the tiebreaker 7-4 to claim the set.
Sigsgaard held serve for 3-2 in the second set and broke Benitez for a 4-2 lead. Sigsgaard served for the match at 5-3 and held at-love to finish off the Longhorns' 4-1 victory. The remaining courts at third and sixth singles were suspended.
"That was huge for Christian, huge for our team, and you can see we're starting to get points all over the board now," Center said. "His confidence continues to rise as his season goes along. The moment he handled the break and the way he was scrapping even though (Juan) Benitez held serve, I told him, 'I love the way you made him hit three or four extra shots there. You weren't giving in on any points.' And then he held serve at-love to win it."
ADDITIONAL POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Michael Center
On the reward of reaching the quarterfinals after playing a demanding schedule
We really try to play a schedule each year that will prepare us to win a national championship. That's just the way we do it. We took some lumps on the way, but we played a lot of top-15 teams. When we get to this point, there's nothing that these guys haven't seen. We were ready. You could see there was a look of determination after we got through that Tulane match that we weren't done.
Texas freshman Christian Sigsgaard
On advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals
I knew this was a big match for everyone involved knowing that we're playing Baylor. Everyone was prepared to go out there and fight their hearts out. That's what I did. My coach was very clear about what I was supposed to do out there today, and I just went and executed.
On his win over Baylor's Juan Benitez
I knew it was a 50-50 match. At the beginning of the season I was losing some of those, but it was nice to get this one. It was just about executing and staying out there. My teammates did a great job of staying out there and staying in the matches on their courts. My match was long, and I think he (Benitez) got a little tight at the end. I was feeling pretty good. It gave me even more confidence to finish this match. It means a lot to me. I've lost some tough ones where we lost the team match 4-3, and it really means a lot to help the team get the win against Baylor today.
NCAA Championships Third Round (Round of 16)
No. 10 Texas 4, No. 7 Baylor 1
Doubles – Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
1 No. 22 Juan Benitez/Will Little (BU) def. No. 76 George Goldhoff/Leonardo Telles (UT), 6-4
2 Christian Sigsgaard/Colin Markes (UT) def. No. 84 Johannes Schretter/Jimmy Bendeck (BU), 6-1
3 Max Tchoutakian/Bjoern Petersen (BU) def. Yuya Ito/Harrison Scott (UT), 6-3
Singles – Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2, 1
1 No. 25 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. No. 15 Juan Benitez (BU), 7-6 (4), 6-3
2 No. 36 Harrison Scott (UT) def. No. 50 Max Tchoutakian (BU), 6-3, 7-5
3 No. 55 Yuya Ito (UT) vs. No. 63 Johannes Schretter (BU), 6-3, 6-7 (1), 1-1, susp.
4 George Goldhoff (UT) def. Bjoern Petersen (BU), 6-0, 6-2
5 Leonardo Telles (UT) def. Will Little (BU), 6-1, 6-4
6 Jimmy Bendeck (BU) vs. Rodrigo Banzer (UT), 7-5, 5-5, susp.
Players Mentioned
