The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Tennessee Tech
No. 2 Men’s Tennis advances to second round of NCAA Championship
05.03.2019 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns swept Tennessee Tech, 4-0, and will face South Florida on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Austin, Texas – The No. 2 Texas Men's Tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the seventh-straight year with a 4-0 sweep over Tennessee Tech at the Texas Tennis Center on Friday. The Longhorns will next face South Florida on Saturday at 4 p.m.
In a match that ended up starting an hour earlier than originally scheduled due to inclement weather, Texas completed its win shortly before rain began to fall that resulted in a delay for the Alabama-South Florida match.
"I was pleased with how our guys performed with the change in the schedule today," interim head coach Bruce Berque said. "I think they did a good job. We only had one small change in our doubles lineup and senior Johnny Goodwin not only got to play, but clinched the doubles point for us. Then in singles, all the guys really stepped up and played well and any one of them could have clinched the match for us, so I was really proud of they way they all responded."
After taking the doubles point, senior Colin Markes and junior No. 7 Christian Sigsgaard got the Longhorns off to a fast start at fifth and first singles, respectively, each dropping only two games in straight-set wins that finished within seconds of each other.
Markes picked up his win first, downing Wenceslao Albin, 6-0, 6-2, to extend the Texas lead to 2-0. It was Markes' sixth win in his last seven matches and he is now 17-3 in dual match singles play this season. He opened the match winning his first seven games, including starting and finishing the first set with deuce-point wins. Albin broke through in the second set to tie it, 1-1, but Markes took three straight games from there to open up a 4-1 lead headed to the 6-2 final.
Sigsgaard followed just after that with the reverse score from Markes, topping Rafael Tosetto, 6-2, 6-0, and giving Texas a 3-0 team lead. The players were even at 2-2 in the first set, but Sigsgaard took off from there and didn't look back, winning the next 10 games for the victory. It was only the fifth time in dual match play this season Sigsgaard played an unranked opponent and the first in his last 11 matches, and he is now 15-7 overall this season.
The remaining four matches were neck and neck for the clincher as all four Longhorns were up a set with five-game wins in the second set. Junior No. 12 Yuya Ito got home first with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Carlos Vicente at second singles. It was Ito's first win in the last three matches in a season where he has compiled a team lead in wins with a 23-3 record. Ito opened up a quick 4-0 lead in the first set including two breaks on deuce points on his way to the 6-2 win. In the second set, Ito grabbed the first game, but Vicente answered with the next two for the lead. That lead stayed on serve to 3-2 before Ito closed on a 4-0 run to send the Longhorns to the second round.
In the three other matches, senior No. 80 Leonardo Telles held a 6-3, 5-3 lead over Elias Grubert at third singles, senior No. 50 Harrison Scott led Riku Kubota, 6-2, 5-3, at fourth singles and freshman Chih Chi Huang was up 6-4, 5-4, on Fanis Kontopoulos at sixth singles.
After a little bit of a slow start to doubles with Tennessee Tech winning the first game in two of the three matches, all three pairs turned it on down the stretch. The No. 5 duo of Scott and Sigsgaard fell behind 2-1 on a deuce point to Vicente and Grubert, but from there ran off five straight games for a 6-2 win. Ito paired with senior Johnny Goodwin for the first time this season, and they also dropped their first game to Tosetto and Lucca Silva, but quickly tied it and grabbed two deuce points for a 3-1 lead. The Eagles won one more game to pull within 3-2, but Goodwin and Ito finished on a 4-0 run for another 6-2 win to clinch the point. Markes and Telles led 3-0 and were up 5-2 when their match against Kubota and Albin was left unfinished.
The Longhorns are now 58-36 all-time in NCAA Championship play and will attempt to advance to the round of 16 for the sixth straight year when they face South Florida on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Texas Tennis Center.
No. 2 Texas 4, Tennessee Tech 0
Singles – Order of Finish (5,1,2)
1. #7 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. Rafael Tosetto (TTECH), 6-2, 6-0
2. #12 Yuya Ito (UT) def. Carlos Vicente (TTECH), 6-2, 6-3
3. #80 Leonardo Telles (UT) vs. Elias Grubert (TTECH), 6-3, 5-3, unf.
4. #55 Harrison Scott (UT) vs. Riku Kubota (TTECH), 6-2, 5-3, unf.
5. Colin Markes (UT) def. Wenceslao Albin (TTECH), 6-0, 6-2
6. Chih Chi Huang (UT) vs. Fanis Kontopoulos (TTECH), 6-4, 5-4, unf.
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,3)
1. #5 Harrison Scott/Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. Carlos Vicente/Elias Grubert (TTECH), 6-2
2. Colin Markes/Leonardo Telles (UT) vs. Riku Kubota/Wenceslao Albin (TTECH), 5-2, unf.
3. Johnny Goodwin/Yuya Ito (UT) def. Rafael Tosetto/Lucca Silva (TTECH), 6-2
(UT)
Players Mentioned
