The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
South Florida
No. 2 Men’s Tennis moves on to the NCAA Championship Round of 16
05.04.2019 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns downed South Florida, 4-1, and head to the round of 16 for the sixth-straight year to face Cal at 1 p.m. on May 11 at the Texas Tennis Center.
Austin, Texas – The No. 2 Texas Men's Tennis team advanced to the NCAA Championship Round of 16 for the sixth-straight year with a 4-1 win over South Florida on Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center. The Longhorns will host Cal in an NCAA Championship match for the second-straight year at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, after the teams met in the second round in Austin a year ago, a 4-0 Texas win.
After dropping the doubles point, the Longhorns made a strong response in singles, winning four straight matches to take the overall victory. They were also one game away from wins in each of the two remaining matches when play stopped.
"I told these guys that the goal all week was to clear the first hurdle of the tournament and get through the first week and make the sweet 16," interim coach Bruce Berque said. "I'm happy for them because they put the work in. It got a little hairy after the doubles, but I think we were confident that if the guys came out and competed and played hard on every court (in singles), we'd have a chance to win. This group is experienced and has faced it before, so they did a good job today."
Just as he did in the first round, senior Colin Markes picked up the first singles point for Texas in efficient fashion, downing Sergio Gomez-Montesa, 6-2, 6-3, at fifth singles. The first set stayed on serve up to 2-2, however that's when Markes took over, starting with a deuce-point break that led to wins in six straight games for a 2-0 lead in the second set. The players alternated games on serve up to 5-3 when Markes grabbed another break and the match, evening the team score, 1-1. It was Markes' seventh win in his last eight matches and he is now 18-3 in dual match singles play this season.
Senior No. 55 Harrison Scott followed quickly behind Markes to give Texas a 2-1 lead with a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Jakup Wojcik. Wojcik picked up the first game of the match, but it was all Scott from there in the first set as he ran off six-straight games. Just like the first set, Wojcik took a 1-0 lead, and once again Scott went on a run, this time with four-straight games. Wojcik cut the lead to 4-3 but would get no closer as Scott won two of the last three for the victory. Scott has now posted a 5-0 record in his last seven matches and is 17-5 this season in dual match singles.
The final four matches were a back and forth race to the finish with junior No. 12 Yuya Ito getting home first with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Chase Ferguson at second singles. The match stayed on serve in the first set up to a 4-3 lead for Ito despite four deuce-point games in which each player won two. Ito would then register the first break and capitalize on it by holding serve for the set. The second set followed a similar script, this time staying on serve to a 4-4 tie, including three deuce-point games, when Ito would once again break, this time on a deuce point, and then hold for the win. It was Ito's team-leading 24th win of the year to just three losses.
One of the team's best clinchers over his career, senior Rodrigo Banzer delivered again with a 6-1, 7-6 (4) win over Ivan Yatsuk at sixth singles. Banzer won the first set handily, dropping only the third game, however the second set would be much closer, including six deuce-point games and finishing with a tiebreaker. The first two games were both deuce-point breaks with Yatsuk striking first and Banzer answering, but despite the number of deuce points, the rest of the set stayed on serve up to the breaker. In that frame, Banzer jumped out to a 3-0 lead that he extended to 5-1 before Yatsuk pushed it back to 5-4. However, Banzer would capture the last two points and the overall match for the Longhorns and moved to 6-1 in his last eight singles matches with one unfinished.
Banzer only finished by a nose over junior No. 7 Christian Sigsgaard who was within points of a top-15 victory when play stopped, leading No. 15 Alberto Barroso-Campos, 6-4, 6-5 at first singles. Despite a slower-playing first set for senior No. 80 Leonardo Telles that he won 7-5 against Pierre Luquet at third singles, Telles caught up to the pack quickly in the second, only dropping the second game on his way to a 5-1 lead when it went unfinished.
Earlier in the day, the Longhorns lost just their seventh doubles point of the season. The match at first doubles between No. 5 Scott and Sigsgaard and No. 88 Barroso-Campos and Luquet came down to two deuce points that both went in favor of the South Florida. Scott and Sigsgaard had established a 2-0 lead, however the Bulls duo won five-straight games, the last two of which were deuce points, resulting in a 5-2 lead and a 6-3 win.
Ito and freshman Chih Chi Huang answered for Texas at third doubles against Ferguson and Gomez-Montesa. That match stayed on serve all the way to a 5-4 lead for the Texas pair when they were able to break on a deuce point for a 6-4 victory. Huang and Ito are now 14-5 this season in dual match doubles play.
That left the deciding match at second doubles where Markes and Telles trailed Yatsuk and Wojcik, 3-1, after a break. They responded with the next two games for a 3-3 tie that turned into 4-4 after the teams alternated deuce-point wins. Yatsuk and Wojcik then held and broke for the 6-4 win and the 1-0 lead for South Florida.
Texas is now 25-3 overall, which is its best record through 28 matches since 2010 (26-2), and will host Cal for the second-straight year in the NCAA Championship at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 at the Texas Tennis Center.
No. 2 Texas 4, No. 37 South Florida 1
Singles – Order of Finish (5,4,2,6)
1. #7 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) vs. #15 Alberto Barroso-Camp (USF), 6-4, 6-5, unf.
2. #12 Yuya Ito (UT) def. Chase Ferguson (USF), 6-3, 6-4
3. #80 Leonardo Telles (UT) vs. Pierre Luquet (USF), 7-5, 5-1, unf.
4. #55 Harrison Scott (UT) def. Jakup Wojcik (USF), 6-1, 6-4
5. Colin Markes (UT) def. Sergio Gomez Montesa (USF), 6-2, 6-3
6. Rodrigo Banzer (UT) def. Ivan Yatsuk (USF), 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,3,2)
1. #88 Alberto Barroso-Camp/Pierre Luquet (USF) def. #5 Harrison Scott/Christian Sigsgaard (UT), 6-3
2. Ivan Yatsuk/Jakup Wojcik (USF) def. Colin Markes/Leonardo Telles (UT), 6-4
3. Chih Chi Huang/Yuya Ito (UT) def. Chase Ferguson/Sergio Gomez Montesa (USF), 6-4
Players Mentioned
