Rice University
UC Irvine
Owls Down Anteaters 6-1
3/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 6, 2007
IRVINE, Calif. -- With dominating performances from the bottom two-thirds of the lineup, 17th-ranked Rice defeated No. 75 UC Irvine 6-1 on Wednesday afternoon in dual-match action in Irvine, Calif.
The Owls went right to work in doubles, winning at all three positions to take the first point. Ben Harknett and Filip Zivojinovic were solid at No. 3, beating Victor Lamm and Zac Tsai 8-2 to highlight Rice's doubles play.
In singles, Rice dominated at the three, four, five and six positions to lock up the win. Tobias Scheil struck first at No. 5, downing the Anteaters' Hesham Kenawy 6-0, 6-1. Then, 97th-ranked Jason Mok tallied a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Douglas Taylor at No. 6 to put the Owls ahead 3-0. Christoph Müller clinched the team win at No. 4 with his 6-0, 6-1 decision against Andrei Radulescu.
Ralph Knupfer, ranked 116th added another quick victory to the Owls' total, beating Shimpei Suzuki 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles. Harknett closed out the scoring, and the match, against Aaron Yovan at No. 1 singles, rallying from a set down for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win.
Rice returns to action on Wednesday, facing No. 9 Southern Cal at 3:30 p.m., in Los Angeles, Calif.
Results
No. 17 Rice 6, No. 75 UC Irvine 1
Doubles
1. Knupfer/Scheil (RU) def. Yovan/Mustafa Ulukan (UCI), 8-6
2. Mok/Müller (RU) def. Radulescu/Alex Sundling (UCI), 8-5
3. Harknett/ Filip Zivojinovic (RU) def. Lamm/Zac Tsai (UCI), 8-2
Singles
1. No. 25 Ben Harknett (RU) def. Aaron Yovan (UCI), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. Victor Lamm (UCI) def. Filip Paroci (RU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
3. No. 116 Ralph Knupfer (RU) def. Shimpei Suzuki (UCI), 6-2, 6-2
4. Christoph Müller (RU) def. Andrei Radulescu (UCI), 6-0, 6-1
5. Tobias Scheil (RU) def. Hesham Kenawy (UCI), 6-0, 6-1
6. Jason Mok (RU) def. Douglas Taylor (UCI), 6-1, 6-1
Singles Order of Finish: 5, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1
Players Mentioned
