The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Illinois
No. 6 Men’s Tennis wins 4-3 thriller over No. 14 Illinois
02.15.2019 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns advance to the quarterfinals of the ITA National Indoor Championship against No. 5 USC on Saturday.
Chicago – The No. 6 Texas Men's Tennis team won in high drama, 4-3, over No. 14 Illinois in the first round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Indoor Championship in Chicago on Friday night. The victory sends the Longhorns to the quarterfinals against No. 5 USC on Saturday and improves their record to 10-0 this season.
In what amounted to a virtual road match for Texas with a vocal crowd at the Midtown Athletic Club, the Illini rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to tie the overall score, 3-3. Two of the points in the Illinois rally were won on third-set tiebreakers, which set the stage for the third one of the team match. However, this time senior No. 91 Leonardo Telles emerged in dramatic fashion over No. 30 Zeke Clark in third singles, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5), after coming back from being down 5-3 in both the second and third sets to make it to that point.
Telles jumped out quickly with a 3-0 lead on Clark in the first set, however Clark answered with five straight games before finishing the set, 6-4. Telles trailed for most of the second set and was down, 5-3, when he orchestrated a run of his own with four straight games for the 7-5 set win. In the third set, he once again was in a 5-3 hole, but once again, he fought back and took a 6-5 lead after winning a deuce game tied 5-5. Clark rallied to force the tiebreaker, which he led 3-2, but Telles captured the next four points for a 6-3 lead. Clark answered with two of his own, but it was at that point Telles attacked the net and put away the match for the Longhorns.
Earlier it had appeared as though Texas might not have to go down to the wire. After taking the doubles point, junior No. 14 Yuya Ito topped No. 23 Alex Brown (6-1, 6-4) in second singles for his 13th straight win, including four over ranked opponents, to give the Longhorns a 2-0 lead. Ito made quick work of the first set with a 6-1 win, and in the second set, the players exchanged games on serve up until Ito broke Brown's serve up 5-4 to take the set and the match.
Senior Colin Markes followed next with his 10th straight win by taking down No. 116 Caleb Chakravarthi (6-2, 7-5) in fifth singles and providing a 3-0 Texas lead. While Markes won the first set, 6-2, the second set was tied 3-3 when he took the lead on a deuce point. He extended to a 5-3 advantage and had one deuce match point, but Chakravarthi was able to win the point. Tied at 5-5, Markes rebounded for the last two games, including a break the final one for the win.
At that point the tide started to turn back toward Illinois as junior No. 6 Christian Sigsgaard, senior Harrison Scott and freshman Chih Chi Huang all saw their matches move to third sets. Sigsgaard dropped his first set to No. 24 Aleks Kovacevic, 6-2, but recovered for a 7-5 win in the second before eventually falling, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.
Scott carried a 5-2 lead in his third set against No. 125 Keenan Mayo, but Mayo rallied on the strength of two deuce game wins to take a 6-5 lead. Scott broke Mayo's serve to force the tiebreaker, but Mayo was able to capture the last two points of the frame to break a 5-5 tie and win the match, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
Huang had one opportunity during his match to clinch for the Longhorns. After splitting the first two sets against Siphosothando Montsi, Huang held a 5-3 lead in the third before Montsi cut it to 5-4. The next game went to a deuce point that would have given Huang the victory, but Montsi was able to take the point to even the set, 5-5. The next game also went to a deuce point, and again Montsi was able to prevail, but Huang took the next game to force the tiebreaker. Huang held leads of 3-1 and 4-3 in the breaker, but Montsi claimed the final four points to win the match, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4).
The Longhorns opened the day by winning the doubles point in exciting fashion. After the pair of Huang and Ito lost in doubles for the first time this season by falling 6-3 to Vuc Budic and Gui Gomes, No. 13 Scott and Sigsgaard topped Brown and Chakravarthi by the same 6-3 score. Markes and Telles were then tied with Kovacevic and Mayo, 4-4, and were trailing 40-15 in the game. They rallied for three straight points for a 5-4 lead and finished the set and the doubles point on serve at 6-4.
The Longhorns move on to the quarterfinals of the ITA National Indoor Championship and will face No. 5 USC on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT.
No. 6 Texas 4, No. 14 Illinois 3
Singles – Order of Finish (2,5,1,4,6,3)
1. #24 Aleks Kovacevic (UI) def. #6 Christian Sigsgaard (UT), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
2. #14 Yuya Ito (UT) def. #23 Alex Brown (UI), 6-1, 6-4
3. Leonardo Telles (UT) def. #30 Zeke Clark (UI), 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
4. #125 Keenan Mayo (UI) def. Harrison Scott (UT), 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Colin Markes (UT) def. #116 Caleb Chakravarthi (UI), 6-2, 7-5
6. Siphosothando Montsi (UI) def. Chih Chi Huang (UT), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1,2)
1. #13 Harrison Scott/Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. Alex Brown/Caleb Chakravarthi (UI), 6-3
2. Leonardo Telles/Colin Markes (UT) def. Keenan Mayo/Aleks Kovacevic (UI), 6-4
3. Vuk Budic/Gui Gomes (UI) def. Yuya Ito/Chih Chi Huang (UT), 6-3
Players Mentioned
