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SEMIFINALS SET FOR ITA NATIONAL MEN'S TEAM INDOORS
Three of the Top Four Seeds and Red-Hot Duke Move On
SEATTLE - The semifinals have been set for the 16 teams competing in the
2011 ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship hosted by the
University of Washington at the Nordstrom Tennis Center and Seattle
Tennis Club.
ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship: Quarterfinals
#1 Virginia 4, #8 Illinois 1
#4 Ohio State 4, #5 Texas 1
#3 Tennessee 4, #6 UCLA 1
#15 Duke 4, #10 Florida 1
ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship: First Round
#1 Virginia 4, #16 Washington 1
#8 Illinois 4, #9 Texas A&M 1
#4 Ohio State 4, #13 Texas Tech 1
#5 Texas 4, #12 Kentucky 2
#6 UCLA 4, #11 Louisville 1
#3 Tennessee 4, #14 Georgia 2
#10 Florida 4, #7 Stanford 3
#15 Duke 4, #2 USC 3
More on the Semifinalists:
#1 VIRGINIA: The top-ranked Virginia men's tennis team reached the ITA
National Team Indoor semifinals for the fifth consecutive season by
topping No. 8 Illinois 4-1 Saturday night in a quarterfinal match at the
Nordstrom Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (12-0) will continue their bid
for an unprecedented fourth consecutive National Team Indoors
Championship on Sunday as they meet No. 4 Ohio State in a semifinal
match.
In doubles, the Cavaliers' new doubles combinations once again worked
well to give them a 1-0 lead. Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) and Steven
Rooda (Amersfoort, The Netherlands) topped Bruno Abdelnour and Dennis
Nevolo 8-3 at No. 3. At the top spot, Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) and
Alex Domijan (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) downed Abe Souza and Johnny Hamui 8-4
to clinch the first point of the match.
In singles, the Cavaliers extended their lead to 2-0 as Justin Shane
(Falls Church, Va.) topped Stephen Hoh 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 6 position.
Jarmere Jenkins (College Park, Ga.) made the score 3-0 with his 6-2, 6-3
win at No. 4 over Roy Kalmanovich. Illinois picked up its only point of
the night at No. 5, where Souza defeated Courtney 6-4, 6-3. Domijan
closed out the match as he defeated Hamui 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2.
First Round Matchup: No. 1 Virginia 4, No. 16 Washington 1
Quarterfinal Matchup: No. 1 Virginia 4, No. 8 Illinois 1
Semifinal Matchup: No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Ohio State
#1 Virginia 4, #8 Illinois 1
Doubles
1. Shabaz/Domijan (UVa) def. Souza/Hamui (ILL), 8-4
2. Singh/Jenkins (UVa) vs. Roth/Hoh (ILL), 6-5 DNF
3. Courtney/Rooda (UVa) def. Abdelnour/Nevolo (ILL), 8-3
Singles
1. #8 Dennis Nevolo (ILL) vs. #15 Michael Shabaz (UVa), 7-6, 4-3 DNF
2. #2 Alex Domijan (UVa) def. #33 Johnny Hamui (ILL), 6-3, 6-3
3. #13 Sanam Singh vs. KU Singh (ILL), 4-6, 6-3 DNF
4. #25 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) def. #65 Abe Souza (ILL), 6-2, 6-3
5. #23 Drew Courtney (UVa) def. Steven Hoh (ILL), 6-4, 6-3
6. #78 Justin Shane (UVa) def. Bruno Abdelnour (ILL), 6-2, 6-4
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#3 TENNESSEE:
For the third consecutive year, the Tennessee Volunteers have reached
the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, thanks to
three straight-set wins in singles. The third-ranked Vols dealt
sixth-ranked UCLA its first loss of the season with a 4-1 by winning the
doubles point and picking up victories in singles from Rhyne Williams,
Edward Jones and John-Patrick Smith, who clinched the team win by
defeating 84th-ranked Amit Inbar 7-5, 6-3 on court 2.
For the second time in as many days, Tennessee (8-0) filled in the
singles lineup card without 46th-ranked Tennys Sandgren, who did not
play because of illness. Once again, the Vols rallied together to
advance in the first team tournament of the season.
January newcomer Jarryd Chaplin took Sandgren's place in the doubles
lineup with Williams at the No. 2 position and served to clinch the
doubles point. Sophomore Taylor Patrick played in the singles lineup for
the first time this season on court 6 as the rest of the lineup moved up
a position to replace the All-SEC sophomore on court 3.
"We keep stressing from the start of the year that everyone has a role,"
Tennessee head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "We're using our whole team.
You have to do that. I think today was an example of how close we are as
a team and how committed we are to each other."
After clinching the doubles point, the Vols won four of six first sets
to start singles. UCLA (8-1) got its lone point on a 6-1, 6-2 win by
Adrian Puget over Patrick on court 6 to tie the match 1-1.
Williams, the top-ranked sophomore from Knoxville, put the Vols ahead
for good 2-1 on a 6-2, 6-3 win against 63rd-ranked Daniel Kosakowski on
court 1.
Jones had lost a close match in straight sets against Georgia the day
earlier, but he won his second match playing up at the No. 5 position
Saturday. The sophomore from Carmarthen, Wales, took the first-set
tiebreaker 7-6 (1) and ran away with the second set 6-1 to give the Vols
a 3-1 lead. A few minutes later, Smith clinched the match on court 2
with the straight-set win against Inbar. The 17th-ranked senior improved
to a team-leading 26-7 this season, including 8-0 in dual matches.
The Vols won the doubles point to start the match for the 21st
consecutive time behind wins on courts 1 and 2. Conkic and Smith won
their seventh consecutive match at the top of the Vols' lineup 8-4.
Chaplin had a good career debut in doubles, winning 8-6 on court 2 with
Williams.
"Jarryd came in and did a great job, but we expected that," Winterbotham
said. "Taylor came in and gave his best effort. Those two guys have
experienced something that's going to help us down the road."
First Round Matchup: No. 3 Tennessee 4, #14 Georgia 2
Quarterfinal Matchup: No. 3 Tennessee 4, No. 6 UCLA 1
Semifinal Matchup: No. 3 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Duke
#3 Tennessee 4, #6 UCLA 1
Doubles
1. #8 Smith/Conkic (UT) def. Brigham/Inbar (UCLA), 8-4
2. Chaplin/Williams (UT) def. Puget/Seguso (UCLA), 8-6
3. Kosakowski/Hardie (UCLA) vs. Jones/Fago (UT), 7-5 DNF
Singles
1. #1 Rhyne Williams (UT) def. #63 Daniel Kosakowski (UCLA), 6-2, 6-4
2. #17 John-Patrick Smith (UT) def. #84 Amit Inbar (UCLA), 7-5, 6-3
3. #68 Matteo Fago (UT) vs. #87 Maxime Tabatruong (UCLA), 7-5, 3-6 DNF
4. #119 Boris Conkic (UT) vs. Clay Thompson (UCLA), 4-6, 4-3 DNF
5. Edward Jones (UT) def. Holden Seguso (UCLA), 7-6 [1], 6-1
6. Adrien Puget (UCLA) def. Taylor Patrick (UT), 6-1, 6-2
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#4 OHIO STATE: The No. 4 Ohio State men's tennis team downed No. 5
Texas, 4-1, in the quarterfinals of the 2011 ITA National Team Indoors
Championship Saturday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Wash.
With the win, the Buckeyes are 12-9 all-time in the tournament. During
the 2011 season, Ohio State has compiled a 5-0 record against ITA Top 25
teams (No. 18 Ole Miss, 6-1; No. 11 Georgia, 6-1; No. 19 North Carolina,
6-1; No. 14 Texas Tech, 4-1). Meanwhile, 12th-year head coach Ty Tucker
picked up his first win against the Longhorns, moving to 1-3, while Ohio
State (11-0) is now 1-5 vs. Texas (8-1) all-time.
In doubles action, Buckeyes Chase Buchanan and Blaz Rola, the
sixth-ranked team nationally, defeated the second-ranked tandem in the
country, Ed Corrie and Jean Anderson, 8-5, giving Ohio State two chances
in the other contests to claim the doubles point.
Texas' Kellen Damico and David Holiner ended senior Matt Allare and
redshirt-freshman Peter Kobelt's chances of a victory, defeating the
duo, 8-5. In nail-biting fashion, Buckeyes Devin McCarthy and Balazs
Novak were dealt a 9-7 loss at the hands of Vasko Mladenov and Daniel
Whitehead, earning the doubles point for the Longhorns.
It was the second time this season and second-consecutive day in the
tournament Ohio State lost the doubles point. The Scarlet and Gray
defeated Texas Tech, 4-1, in the opening-round Friday after not claiming
the doubles point.
In singles action Buchanan finished his first match of the tournament,
winning in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 over No. 55 Jean Anderson. Buchanan,
the nation's 21st-ranked player, improved to 15-3 on the season.
Allare, one of three captains on the team, gave the Buckeyes a 2-1
advantage, downing Longhorn Ben Chen 6-1, 6-2. The victory was Allare's
96th of his Ohio State career. Novak, another senior captain, improved
to 11-0 in singles, earning a 6-4, 6-3 win over Whitehead. Novak now
stands at 15-2 on the 2011 campaign.
True freshman Ille Van Engelen won his first match of the tournament,
clinching the match for the Buckeyes, beating No. 61 Damico, 6-4, 1-6,
6-3. Van Engelen, the nation's 103rd ranked player, moves to 7-2 in his
rookie season.
First Round Matchup: No. 4 Ohio State 4, No. 13 Texas Tech 1
Quarterfinal Matchup: No. 4 Ohio State 4, No. 5 Texas 1
Semifinal Matchup: No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Virginia
#4 Ohio State 4, #5 Texas 1
Doubles
1. #6 Buchanan/Rola (OSU) def. #2 Corrie/Anderson (UT), 8-5
2. Damico/Holiner (UT) def. #10 Allare/Kobelt (OSU), 8-5
3. Mladenov/Chen (UT) def. #66 McCarthy/Novak (OSU), 9-7
Singles
1. #5 Blaz Rola (OSU) vs. #91 Ed Corrie (UT), 4-6, 6-3, 5-2 DNF
2. #21 Chase Buchanan (OSU) def. #55 Jean Andersen (UT), 6-0, 6-2
3. #103 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) def. #61 Kellen Damico (UT), 6-4, 1-6,
6-3
4. #45 Matt Allare (OSU) def. #97 Ben Chen (UT), 6-1, 6-2
5. #55 Devin McCarthy (OSU) vs. #93 Vasko Mladenov (UT), 6-4, 6-7 [4],
2-1 DNF
6. Balkazs Novak (OSU) def. Daniel Whitehead (UT), 6-4, 6-3
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#15 DUKE: No. 17 Duke advanced to the semifinals of the ITA National
Team Indoor Championships with a 4-1 victory over No. 11 Florida on
Saturday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Wash.
"The theme of the match today was mental toughness from our guys," said
head coach Ramsey Smith. "I thought everyone fought and competed so
well. The guys that lost first sets were able to hang around and stay
out there to help keep the match going. I was really pleased with our
resilience."
Duke improved to 9-2 on Saturday after handing the Gators their second
loss of the season. The Blue Devils will move on to face No. 3 Tennessee
at 3 p.m. (ET) tomorrow for a spot in the finals. The two schools met
one week ago in Durham with the Volunteers handing Duke a 7-0 loss on
their home court in a match that was closer than the final score.
For the second straight day a Duke senior clinched the win for the Blue
Devils. Jared Pinsky was handed a 6-1 loss in his first set but would
not quit and came back to take his match into a third set after winning
the second set, 6-3. Pinsky and his opponent, Andrew Butz exchanged
games until Pinsky took two straight for a 6-5 lead. Butz bounced back
to break Pinsky and force a tiebreaker. With the score tied at 4-4 in
the tiebreaker, Pinsky hit two aggressive shots to take a 6-4 lead and
would wind up winning it 7-5 to send Duke on to the next round with his
19th win of the season.
"I didn't really know what was happening on the other courts so I
thought it could come down to my match," said Pinsky. "After a slow
start I hung in there and kept fighting. I knew I had put in the work
and I just needed to find a way to keep staying aggressive and change my
strategy a little bit."
The Blue Devils gained an early lead in the match, winning at the No. 1
and 3 doubles position for the first team point in the match. David
Holland and Chris Mengel were the first to finish, earning their 10th
win of the year as a duo. They defeated Billy Federhofer and Bob van
Overbeek, 8-4. The top doubles match featured two pairs ranked in the
top 15. It was Duke's No. 9 Reid Carleton and Henrique Cunha claiming an
8-5 win over No. 15 Alex Lacroix and Nassim Slilam. The two Blue Devils
are now 9-1 in dual matches, 7-2 against ranked opponents and 21-3
overall.
"The doubles point was key and I was very happy with our doubles today,"
said Smith. "For the first time in a few matches I felt like all three
teams were locked in and playing well."
Freshman Fred Saba earned the Blue Devils' first point against Southern
California yesterday and today set the tone in singles for Duke again
with the first win of the day. He picked up a straight set victory, 7-6
(4), 6-3 over No. 74 Bob van Overbeek. Both of Saba's wins at the
National Team Indoor Championships have been over ranked opponents, the
first two of his career.
For the second straight day, No. 10 Henrique Cunha suffered a loss to a
fellow top 10 opponent. Lacroix, the ninth-ranked player in the country,
edged Cunha in a first set tiebreaker, 7-3, and then took the second set
6-3 to cut Duke's lead to 2-1. It is the first time in Cunha's
collegiate career he has lost three consecutive matches as he has faced
three straight top 25 competitors.
Carleton's singles match went the opposite direction as Cunha's.
Carleton, the hero of Friday's match, was able to come out on top in his
first set tiebreaker, 7-5, and then cruised to a 6-2 win to close out
the match in straight sets over No. 43 Sekou Bangoura. The win was
Carleton's 13th over a ranked opponent as he improved to 21-4 on the
season.
First Round Matchup: No. 15 Duke 4, No. 2 USC 3
Quarterfinal Matchup: No. 15 Duke 4, No. 10 Florida 1
Semifinal Matchup: No. 15 Duke vs. No. 3 Tennessee
#15 Duke 4, #10 Florida 1
Doubles:
1. #9 Cunha/Carleton (DUKE) def. #15 Lacroix/Slilam (UF), 8-5
2. #60 Bangoura/Butz (UF) vs. Pinsky/Saba (DUKE), 7-6 DNF
3. Mengel/Holland (DUKE) def. Federhofer/Overbeek (UF), 8-4
Singles:
1. #9 Alexander Lacroix (UF) def. #10 Henrique Cunha (DUKE), 7-6 [3],
6-3
2. #6 Reid Carleton (DUKE) def. #43 Sekou Bangoura (UF), 7-6 [5], 6-2
3. Nassim Slilam (UF) vs. Chris Mengel (DUKE), 6-3, 2-6, 5-3 DNF
4. Fred Saba (DUKE) def. #74 Bob Van Overbeek (UF), 7-6 [4], 6-3
5. Jared Pinsky (DUKE) def. Andrew Butz (UF), 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 [5]
6. Luke Marchese (DUKE) vs. Billy Federhofer (UF), 3-6, 6-4, 4-1 DNF
For complete results, visit www.itatennis.com. Play continues Sunday at
9 am PT at the Nordstrom Tennis Center and Seattle Tennis Club.
