Searle, Harknett Advance To Semifinals at Crimson Tide Tournament
9/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Sept. 17, 2005
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Rice's top seeded duo of senior Robert Searle and junior Ben Harknett posted a pair of victories on Saturday to advance to the Open A doubles semifinals of the Crimson Tide Fall Tournament in Montgomery, Ala.
Searle and Harknett, ranked 21st nationally, began the day with an 8-4 win against Samford's Hank Grant and Stuart Misner. The Rice duo then defeated the William and Mary's fifth-seeded tandem of Alex Cojanu and Stephen Ward 8-5.
In Open A singles action, Harknett and Searle both advanced to the semifinals. Searle swept Ivan Bjelica of Mississippi State 6-2, 6-1 before suffering a 7-6 (6), 6-2 loss to Alabama's Javier Bes. Harknett held off Minnesota's Raul Schwark for a 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (8) win in the quarterfinals, but fell to Colorado's Eric Molnar 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals.
Senior Tony Haerle scored a victory in the back draw of the Open A singles, sweeping William and Mary's Billy Mulligan 7-5, 6-3.
Complete tournament results are available here. Action concludes Sunday.
