Men's Tennis: Rice Drops Nevada, Advances To WAC Semis
4/22/2005 HONOLULU - Second-seeded Rice advanced to the semifinals of the 2005 Western Athletic Conference Championships with a 5-0 victory over Nevada, Friday, at the Univ. of Hawaii Tennis Complex.
Rice grabbed the doubles point with victories at the two and three positions. The Owls then made quick work in singles action with straight-set wins at the three though six spots. Sophomore Ben Harknett blasted Brandon Sieh at number two with a 6-1, 6-0 decision. Freshmen Filip Zivojinovic and Ralph Knupfer were equally impressive, with Zivojinovic scoring a 6-2, 6-0 victory at the four spot and Knupfer winning 7-6, 6-1 at six. Senior Rodrigo Gabriel added a 6-2, 6-1 win against Eldar Dzhafarov at the five position.
With the victory, the Owls have advanced to the semifinals for the fifth consecutive year. Rice will meet the SMU-Hawaii winner on Saturday.
Match Results
Rice 5, Nevada 0
Doubles
1. Searle/Harknett (RU) vs. Jooste/Popovic (UN), DNF
2. Haerle/Zivojinovic (RU) def. Sieh/Stupka (UN), 8-2
3. Mok/Gabriel (RU) def. Dzhafarov/Volger (UN), 8-4
Singles
1. Robert Searle (RU) vs. Adam Jooste (UN), DNF
2. Tony Haerle (RU) vs. Milos Popovic (UN), DNF
3. Ben Harknett (RU) def. Brandon Sieh (UN), 6-1, 6-0
4. Filip Zivojinovic (RU) def. Rafal Stupka (UN), 6-2, 6-0
5. Rodrigo Gabriel (RU) def. Eldar Dzhafarov (UN), 6-2, 6-1
6. Ralph Knupfer (RU) def. Ken Watabe (UN), 7-6, 6-1 |
