The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma (Big 12 Championships semifinals)
No. 15 Men's Tennis shuts out No. 14 Oklahoma, advances to Big 12 Championships finals
04.28.2018 | Men's Tennis
Longhorns defeat Sooners for second time in two weeks.
Highlights
AUSTIN, Texas – Second-seeded Texas (16-6) put forth an aggressive effort in doubles and racked up three singles victories in a 4-0 win over third-seeded Oklahoma (19-5) Saturday in the semifinals of the 2018 Big 12 Tennis Championships. The Longhorns advance to Sunday's final where it will meet fifth-seeded Baylor. First serve is set for 1 p.m. CT at Texas Tennis Center.
Texas jumped on Oklahoma in doubles and set the tone for the rest of the match. Junior Colin Markes teamed with All-America sophomore Yuya Ito to knock off Adrian Oetzbach and Jochen Bertsch at third doubles, 6-2. Texas clinched the doubles point at the second position where juniors Leonardo Telles and Adrian Ortiz defeated OU's Ferran Calvo and Stefano Tsorotiotis, 6-3. The remaining match was suspended.
The Longhorns kept the pressure on the Sooners in singles action. Ortiz claimed his eighth straight victory and dealt Tsorotiotis a 6-1, 6-1 defeat at sixth singles. Ito withstood a challenge from Jake Van Emburgh at second singles and won 6-4, 6-4 for a 3-0 Texas lead.
Junior Rodrigo Banzer, ranked 103rd nationally in singles, put away the Longhorns' victory with his 6-2, 6-4 win over Max Stewart at fifth singles. The remaining matches were suspended.
2018 Big 12 Championships – Men's Semifinals
No. 2 seed Texas 4, No. 3 seed Oklahoma 0
Doubles – Order of Finish: 3, 2
1 Harrison Scott/Christian Sigsgaard (UT) vs. No. 68 Alex Bakshi/Jake Van Emburgh (OU), 5-5, susp.
2 Leonardo Telles/Adrian Ortiz (UT) def. Ferran Calvio/Stefano Tsorotiotis (OU), 6-3
3 Yuya Ito/Colin Markes (UT) def. Adrian Oetzbach/Jochen Bertsch (OU), 6-2
Singles – Order of Finish: 6, 2, 5
1 No. 112 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) vs. No. 32 Alex Bakshi (OU), 7-5, 3-3, susp.
2 No. 57 Yuya Ito (UT) def. Jake Van Emburgh (OU), 6-4, 6-4
3 No. 89 Harrison Scott (UT) vs. No. 60 Ferran Calvo (OU), 2-6, 6-4, 0-1, susp.
4 No. 91 Leonardo Telles (UT) vs. Adrian Oetzbach (OU), 6-4, 3-4, susp.
5 No. 103 Rodrigo Banzer (UT) def. Max Stewart (OU), 6-2, 6-4
6 Adrian Ortiz (UT) def. Stefano Tsorotiotis (OU), 6-1, 6-1
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Michael Center
On the doubles play against Oklahoma: Our emphasis has been, can we continue to be consistent at all nine spots…and put ourselves in positions to really compete at all nine spots? I thought we did a great job of that today. We got on top of them at No. 2 and 3, actually had a chance at No. 1 doubles. So the spirit was there. I think that set the tone for the match. That put a lot of pressure on them. Then to come out and get five first sets in singles was really a great effort.
On the singles wins and Adrian Ortiz winning at No. 6: Adrian (Ortiz) is a great player. He's come back from two shoulder surgeries. It's been a long road back for him. But I feel that he's starting to find his stride and find his game. I look for him to continue to improve. Yuya Ito beat one of the best and hottest players in the country today to get that second point. I thought Rodrigo (Banzer) was really solid all the way through. And the rest of the guys – Harrison Scott is down a set, 4-1, and comes all the way back and split sets.
On playing in the final on their home court: That's what we talk about, the opportunity. At this point in time in the season, if you keep competing, keep advancing, you create more and more exciting opportunities. I think these guys are starting to like the excitement of the opportunity. We'll be excited to play whoever we play tomorrow.
Players Mentioned
