Rice University
San Diego
Owls Fend Off Toreros
3/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 10, 2007
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The 17th-ranked Rice men finished off a 10-day road trip to southern California with a 4-3 win against No. 72 San Diego on Saturday afternoon in dual-match action.
After beginning the road trip with the 118th Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, the Owls finished the week with a 2-1 dual-match record with the loss coming at No. 9 USC on Wednesday.
On Saturday, the Owls swept the doubles point, holding off the Toreros in highly contested matches at the one and two positions. Ralph Knupfer and Tobias Scheil downed Chris Coetzee and Thomas Liversage 8-6 at the top spot, while Jason Mok and Christoph Müller out-lasted Jonas Mouly and Charl Wolmarans 9-8 (4) at two.
Müller struck again for Rice in singles, downing Ryo Sekiguchi 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4. Filip Zivojinovic also struck a blow for the Owls at No. 5 singles, sweeping Wolmarans 6-1, 6-2 as Rice held a 3-2 lead with one and two singles heading into third sets.
Knupfer stormed back from a first set loss to beat Mouly 0-6, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch the match for the Owls.
Rice improves to 10-4 on the year with the victory. The Owls now head from west to east as they travel to Florida to face No. 31 Florida State on Friday, then No. 67 Miami on Sunday.
Results
No. 17 Rice 4, No. 72 San Diego 3
Doubles
1. Knupfer/Tobias Scheil (RU) def. Coetzee/Liversage (USD), 8-6
2. Mok/Müller (RU) def. Mouly/Wolmarans (USD), 9-8 (4)
3. Harknett/Paroci (RU) def. Brown/Ozurovich (USD), 8-4
Singles
1. Thomas Liversage (USD) def. No. 25 Ben Harknett (RU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
2. No. 116 Ralph Knupfer (RU) def. Jonas Mouly (USD), 0-6, 6-3, 6-1
3. Chris Coetzee (USD) def. Filip Paroci (RU), 6-1, 6-2
4. Christoph Müller (RU) def. Ryo Sekiguchi (USD), 6-4, 6-2
5. Filip Zivojinovic (RU) def. Charl Wolmarans (USD), 6-1, 6-2
6. Matt Ozurovich (USD) def. No. 97 Jason Mok (RU), 6-1, 6-4
Players Mentioned
