Rice University
Memphis
Rice Sweeps Memphis in C-USA Quarterfinal Match
4/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 20, 2007
HOUSTON -- The Rice men got their quest for the 2007 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship off to a solid start, sweeping Memphis 4-0 in Friday's quarterfinal action at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.
With the win, the second-seeded and 30th-ranked Owls advance to Saturday's semifinals where they will have a rematch with third-seeded and 48th-ranked SMU at 3 pm on Saturday. The Mustangs upset the Owls 4-3 a week ago at the Downtown Club at the Met and were 4-0 winners against Southern Miss on Friday in the final quarterfinal of the day.
Rice snared the doubles point to begin play. Jason Mok and Christoph Müller struck first at No. 2 doubles, beating Jimmy Khougassian and Charlie Ramsay 8-5. The 53rd ranked Owl tandem of Ralph Knupfer und Tobias Scheil clinched the point at No. 1, downing Armit Narasimhan and Benedikt Fischer 8-4.
The Owls then secured the team victory with three quick wins at the bottom half of the lineup. First up was Hoony Shin's 6-2, 6-2 triumph at No. 6 against Spencer Heflin. Jason Mok then pushed the Rice lead to 3-0 as he beat Cody Loup 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 singles. Scheil wrapped up the win at No. 4 where he downed Ramsay 6-1, 6-0.
In other quarterfinal action on Friday at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium, four seed UAB kicked off the tournament by fending of No. 5 UCF 4-3. Ranked 21st nationally, top-seeded Tulsa eliminated East Carolina 4-0 to move to the semifinals in defense of their 2006 C-USA crown. The Golden Hurricane and the Blazers face off in Saturday's first semifinal match, slated for a 12 pm start at Jake Hess.
Results
#30 Rice 4, University of Memphis 0
Doubles
1. #53 Ralph Knupfer/Tobias Scheil (RICE) def. Amrit Narasimhan/Benedikt Fischer (MEMPHIS) 8-4
2. Jason Mok/Christoph Müller (RICE) def. Jimmy Khougassian/Charlie Ramsay (MEMPHIS) 8-5
3. Ben Harknett/Dennis Polyakov (RICE) vs. Spencer Heflin/Garrison Pilant (MEMPHIS) 8-7, unfinished
Singles
1. #36 Ben Harknett (RICE) vs. Amrit Narasimhan (MEMPHIS) 6-1, 4-2, unfinished
2. #120 Ralph Knupfer (RICE) vs. Jimmy Khougassian (MEMPHIS) 5-7, 1-1, unfinished
3. Christoph Müller (RICE) vs. Benedikt Fischer (MEMPHIS) 6-4, 2-0, unfinished
4. Tobias Scheil (RICE) def. Charlie Ramsay (MEMPHIS) 6-1, 6-0
5. Jason Mok (RICE) def. Cody Loup (MEMPHIS) 6-1, 6-2
6. Hoony Shin (RICE) def. Spencer Heflin (MEMPHIS) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,4,5)
Players Mentioned
