2009 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship Results: #12 Texas 4, #5 Tennessee 3
May 14, 2009 | Men's Tennis
May 14, 2009
NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
Men's Round of 16
May 14, 2009
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
#12 Texas 4, #5 Tennessee 3
RECORDS: Texas 22-6; Tennessee 23-7
SINGLES
1. #5 John-Patrick Smith (Tennessee) def. #19 Dimitar Kutrovsky (Texas), 6-4, 6-1
2. #37 Boris Conkic (Tennessee) def. #69 Ed Corrie (Texas), 6-2, 6-2
3. #80 Kellen Damico (Texas) def. Matteo Fago (Tennessee), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3
4. Josh Zavala (Texas) def. Davey Sandgren (Tennessee), 6-3, 6-3
5. Miguel Reyes Varela (Texas) def. Christian Hansen (Tennessee), 6-3, 6-4
6. Matt Brewer (Tennessee) def. Jonah Kane-West (Texas), 6-4, 7-6 (3)
DOUBLES
1. #27 Corrie/Damico (Texas) def. #3 Smith/Sandgren (Tennessee), 8-5
2. #60 Kutrovsky/Zavala (Texas) def. #42 Fago/Conkic (Tennessee), 7-5
3. Reyes Varela/Sajous (Texas) def. Brewer/Swartz (Tennessee), 8-1
ORDER OF FINISH:
Doubles: 3, 1
Singles: 4, 1, 2, 5, 6, 3
POSTMATCH NOTES
Texas will face fourth-seeded Georgia in the quarterfinals on Saturday, May 16 at noon (CT) in a rematch of last year's NCAA championship match which resulted in the Bulldogs' sixth all-time national championship title.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
Texas Head Coach Michael Center
"Our team has really improved in the last month. We started out preseason No. 2 and I think people had us dead there in the middle of the season. We actually had some guys that were banged up. Miguel (Reyes Varela) really wasn't playing much and Josh (Zavala) was struggling with his back. But, I felt all along, if we kept working, kept pushing and stuck together that this team had a chance to make a run. We started to show it at the end. We played well at our conference tournament. We came up a little short at the end, but we had a chance to win. We played really well last weekend, and these guys have worked hard and are ready to go. I knew Tennessee would be a great opponent. They were one of the best teams in the SEC this year. We came out and played a great doubles point. I thought we controlled the point. We were in control of the singles most of the way, but they started to fight back and Kellen (Damico) did a great job to finish it for us."
Texas Sophomore Kellen Damico
"The first two games of each set are crucial. It sets the tone for the rest of the set. If you get broken earlier, you have to fight and scrap your way back into the set. I grinded for every point I could possibly get. He made some incredible shots, and I was fortunate to hit some back. He made some unforced errors. That's why we practice so hard and that's why we're in the gym everyday. That's why we practice in the Texas heat before these tournaments to be sure we're ready for these situations."
Tennessee Head Coach Sam Winterbotham
"Texas came out and played with a better intensity than us. They got a lot of breaks in doubles and that really set the tone for the doubles point. We did not play a good doubles point. I'm very proud of what my guys did in singles. I thought they fought the way they've fought all year, we're always proud of that. You have to give Texas a great deal of credit there for playing a strong match. That doubles point is nice."
Tennessee Sophomore John-Patrick Smith
"It's a critical point (doubles point), especially this time of year in the NCAAs. We have a lot to work on in doubles and the guys know that. Hopefully, we can do one step better than we have the last couple of years. The good thing is we have the whole team returning next year. That will be a big help for the program as well. Everyone has done a lot of hard work especially considering last year. We improved our ranking a lot. I'm looking forward to next season now and I think our guys are as well."
