July 18, 2011
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Several new faces on the 10th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team are having success on the 2011 ITA Summer Circuit.
Jackson Withrow, a freshman from Omaha, Nebraska, who redshirted this past spring, was the No. 1 seed at the tournament hosted by Wichita State, July 9-11. Withrow won the tournament by defeating four straight opponents and was pushed to the third set 10-point tiebreaker only once and that came in the championship match.
Withrow defeating Bobby Florence, 6-2, 6-1 and followed with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Josh Cobble. In the semifinals, Withrow defeated Drew Freeman from the University of Nebraska, 6-3, 7-6 (6) and then faced Grant Tesmer, the No. 4 seed from Drake. Withrow won the opening set 6-4 and then dropped the second set by an identical 6-4 score. In the tiebreaker, Withrow edged Tesmer for the victory, 11-9.
This past weekend in the Texas Region played in Plano, Jordan Szabo, another freshman who redshirted this past spring, won the event by defeating fellow teammate, Junior Ore.
Szabo, from Bayswater, Victoria, Australia, was seeded No. 1 in the event and won his opening match against Tam Trinh, 6-3, 1-0 (retired due to injury). Szabo disposed of Ryan Neilson in the next match, 6-1, 6-0 and then faced No. 9 seed Pete Thomason. Szabo won 6-2, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals against Christo Schulz and defeated Schulz, 7-6 (2), 6-1. In the semifinal match, Szabo faced TCU product Will Stein and defeated Stein, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bracket, Junior Ore, a freshman from Gaithersburg, Maryland, who played this past spring for the Aggies, sprinted to the championship match. Ore defeated Andrew Maingot, 6-4, 6-3 and Grant Adams, 6-4, 6-4 before he faced the No. 2 seed in the field, Luis Vivas. Ore defeated Vivas, 6-3, 7-6 (3). Ore, seeded No. 14 overall, would take down the No. 11 seed, Nathan Robinson, by a 6-2, 6-3 count. In the semifinals, the No. 4 seed Matt Fore would withdraw due to injury and Ore advanced to face Szabo in the championship match.
Ore won the opening set, 6-4, before Szabo rebounded with a 6-3 decision in the second to force the third set 10-point tiebreaker. Szabo outlasted his teammate Ore, 10-5, to win the championship.
Ore and Szabo were the top-seeded doubles team and held true to form by winning four straight matches for the championship. Ore and Szabo defeated Aaron Gendron and Benjamin Gendron, 8-6, in the opener. The next match was an 8-2 win over the No. 7 seed, Andrew Dobbs and Zachary Zwerner. In the semifinals, Ore and Szabo faced the No. 5 seed Will Stein and Blake Wiggins and the Aggie duo won, 8-1. In the championship match, Ore and Szabo took out the No. 4 seed Max Montague and Christo Schulz, 8-5.
The Texas A&M men's tennis team finished the 2011 season ranked No. 10 in the ITA rankings and with a school-record 29 dual match wins.